In what appears to be one of the first reported appeals court cases involving school district liability under state law related to a wrongfully administered 403(b) plan a Wisconsin court found was that an action alleging a failure to exercise ordinary care in the administration of a 403(b) plan, if proven, could be a fiduciary breach under state law. This breach then may entitle the participants relief in state court.
Continue Reading Fiduciary Liability for 403(b) Non-ERISA Plans?
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DOL’s Proposed Fiduciary Rules May Unexpectedly Open Lifetime Income Door, If…….
By Robert Toth on
Posted in Fiduciary Issues, Lifetime Income
With regard to the DOL’s fiduciary proposed regulations, There is much to like in the new rules; some troubling things; and, perhaps, a mistake or two which will be all flushed out in the coming months. There are a couple of technical points which are worthwhile sharing because they represent what we can expect of the “unexpected” as we work through the changes’ impact. These include the impact on lifetime income , and the application of the PT rules on the purchase of annuities-including QLACs.
Continue Reading DOL’s Proposed Fiduciary Rules May Unexpectedly Open Lifetime Income Door, If…….
Addressing Fiduciary Concerns in the Purchase of 401(k) Distributed Annuities: Dealing With The Five “I’s”- Part 2, Inflexibility and Inaccessability
By Robert Toth on
Posted in Lifetime Income
Traditional annuities are inflexible. Period. You get the monthly benefit you pay for. They provide a very valuable benefit which should be part of anyone’s retirement planning, but this inflexibility can be scary, as it takes away from the participant the ability to address unexpected contingencies. This fear comes from the second point: the funds used to buy the traditional annuity are gone for good. Other than payments made under a survivor annuity, the traditional annuity doesn’t give the participant any access to funds to pay for contingencies, nor does it typically pay a death benefit. So what’s a fiduciary to do?
Continue Reading Addressing Fiduciary Concerns in the Purchase of 401(k) Distributed Annuities: Dealing With The Five “I’s”- Part 2, Inflexibility and Inaccessability
ERISA Section 404(a)(1)(b) Lost in the Shuffle: Whatever Happened to Minimizing Risk?
By Robert Toth on
Posted in General Comment
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.