DOL

Industry & Regulatory News

DOL Releases Form 5500 Revisions for Multiple-Employer Plans

December 28, 2021 – The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a notice with final forms revisions for Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, and Form 5500-SF, Annual Return/Report of Small Employee Benefit Plan, relating to annual reporting changes for multiple-employer plans (MEPs) and pooled employer plans (PEPs). It specifically revises the Form 5500 and Form 5500-SF instructions for the 2021 reporting year for multiple-employer plans. It is effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2021.

December 30 2021

Industry & Regulatory News

DOL Issues "Supplemental Statement" to 2020 Information Letter

December 22, 2021 – The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a supplemental statement to a June 2020 Information Letter. The letter addressed whether plan fiduciaries should offer private equity investments as investment options in individual account defined contribution plans. The 2020 letter indicated that such plans could potentially include managed asset allocation funds with a private equity component, but pointed out that a plan fiduciary should take into account whether it is prudent to include such an investment, particularly if it is a component of a plan’s qualified default investment alternative (QDIA).

December 22 2021

Industry & Regulatory News

Committee Leaders Introduce Retirement Legislation in House

Leadership from the House Committee on Education and Labor and its Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions have introduced the Retirement Improvement and Savings Enhancement (RISE) Act to expand worker access to a secure retirement.

November 10 2021

Industry & Regulatory News

DOL Announces New Temporary Enforcement Policy for PTE 2020-02

The Department of Labor (DOL) has extended the transitional relief under Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2018-02 and provided additional temporary non-enforcement guidance related to specific provisions of Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2020-02 in FAB 2021-02.

October 26 2021

Industry & Regulatory News

DOL Releases Proposed Revisions to Form 5500 Reporting

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), in conjunction with the IRS and Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC), have released proposed forms revisions modifying requirements for Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, reporting. Additionally, the EBSA has issued a proposed rule to amend regulations relating to annual reporting requirements under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

September 14 2021

Industry & Regulatory News

Gomez Nominated for EBSA Post

President Biden has nominated Lisa M. Gomez for Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). Ms. Gomez is a partner at the law firm of Cohen, Weiss and Simon and chair of the firm’s management committee. The law firm focuses on labor, employee benefits, union governance practice, and other employment areas. Ms. Gomez has represented Taft-Hartley multiemployer pension and health plans, as well as single employer, supplemental, and federal health plans. She is a graduate of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Labor and Employment Law’s Leadership Development Program and has held several board or committee positions with the ABA and other organizations.

July 29 2021
DOL

Industry & Regulatory News

Women’s Retirement Protection Act Re-Introduced in House/Senate

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL) have introduced the Women’s Retirement Protection Act of 2021 in their respective chambers. The legislation is intended to address what some have identified as a gap between the retirement preparedness of women compared to their male counterparts—a gap seemingly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Key provisions of the legislation are as follows.

July 28 2021

Industry & Regulatory News

DOL Provides FAQs for Lifetime Income Illustrations

The Department of Labor (DOL) has provided FAQs addressing questions about the timing of implementation of pension benefit statement lifetime income illustrations under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. The SECURE Act requires plan sponsors of ERISA-covered plans to disclose annually a projection of a lifetime income stream that could be generated by a participant’s total accrued benefit. Implementation is to be effective for benefit statements provided more than 12 months after the DOL issued guidance.

July 26 2021

Industry & Regulatory News

Executive Order Includes Review of ESG Factors in Retirement Plans

Last week, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk, which includes a directive to the Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary to consider publishing, by September 2021, a proposed rule to suspend, revise, or rescind the Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments and Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights final rules that were published during the Trump administration regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments and proxy voting by employee benefit plans.

May 24 2021

Industry & Regulatory News

Retirement Security and Savings Act Re-Introduced

Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), and Ben Cardin (D-MD), have introduced the Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2021, legislation that was last introduced in 2019. This bill, like the Securing a Strong Retirement Act introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this month, is intended to build on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE) of 2019. With more than 50 provisions, this bill contains a broad set of retirement reforms under the following categories, highlights of which are enumerated below.

May 24 2021