General Comment
The Making of the 403(b) Model Disclosure Form
The successful chair of a committee serves the committee, the committee does not serve the chair. And so it was with the creation of the just-released "best practices" 403(b) Model Disclosure, which was developed jointly by NEA, ASBO, NTSAA and ASPPA. I was fortunate enough, and honored, to serve as the chair of that…
Representing The Financial Service Company’s Retirement Business and SEC’s “Reporting Up” Requirement Under SOX Section 307/SEC Part 205: The Lesson of BNYMellon
Retirement plan lawyers, both in house and outside counsel, may well want to take note of Bank of New York Mellon’s recently reported troubles related to potentially widespread and fraudulent use of unfair currency exchange rates in their dealings with unsuspecting state and local pension plans. If there is a basis for these charges, and…
DC Plans and the Recession Inequities
Many in the industry saw early on, and tried to address, the terrible disruption caused by the change in 403(b) regulations during the recession. In many circumstances, the transition to the new rules made amounts in many 403(b) contracts unavailable at a time when many teachers and employees of not-for-profit organizations (who were among the…
ERISA and Mom
T his has become my "annual Mother’s Day" posting, which hopefully helps describe the importance of what we do:
ERISA wonks such as ourselves tend to get lost in the press of details which seem to flow non-stop from our regulators and legislators in D.C. It is sometimes helpful to step back and see …
The REAL Problem With the New 12b-1 Rule: SEC’s Treatment of 401(k) Participants as 403(b) Participants
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SEC Chair Warns of Increased Focus On Retirement Market
The SEC’s rules have always had particular applicability to the 403(b) marketplace. But the SEC also has leverage into the 401(k) market, a market which often pays scant attention to the agency. in addition to the SEC’s authority to regulate registered investment products, a participant’s interest in a 401(k) plan is still, legally, a “security” under its jurisdiction. 401(k) plan interests may be exempted from the registration and filing requirements of the ’33 and ’34 Acts, but they ARE NOT exempted from those laws’ anti-fraud provisions. So, the agency has every right to investigate fraudulent activities related to the provision of 401(k) plans to plan participants.
Continue Reading SEC Chair Warns of Increased Focus On Retirement Market
ERISA and Mom
ERISA really did create some fundamental changes that has broad personal affect. This reposting of a blog I wrote last year provides a good Mother’s Day reminder of the importance of the work we do:
ERISA wonks such as ourselves tend to get lost in the press of details which seem to flow non-stop …
ERISA Section 404(a)(1)(b) Lost in the Shuffle: Whatever Happened to Minimizing Risk?
The mantra of Congress, investment advisors and the DOL over the past decade has been consistent: retirement plan assets must be invested in such a way to provide American workers with sufficient assets upon which to actually retire comfortably. This is as basic as apple pie, and a concept with which one can hardly disagree.
In Defense of Our Colleagues
In our anger at AIG, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and the other holding companies which have sorely abused the public and marketplace trust, we need to recognize the many good men and women in those organizations who will and do put their shoulders to the wheel without demanding ransom; those who believe in their organizations…