On November 1st, the IRS released a number of inflation adjustments for 2024, including to certain limits for qualified retirement plans. As expected, this year’s adjustments are more modest than last year’s significant increases. The table below provides an overview of the key adjustments for qualified retirement plans.
| Qualified Defined Benefit Plans | |||
| 2023 | 2024 | ||
The filing of a new 401(k) plan “excessive fee” or “investment underperformance” complaint is hardly “news” these days given the proliferation of suits that have been filed over the past several years. In fact, hardly a week goes by when at least one new lawsuit has not been commenced. Still, plan sponsors and fiduciaries were
On October 21st, the IRS released a number of additional inflation adjustments for 2023, including to certain limits for qualified retirement plans. Perhaps most notably, the annual limit for pre-tax and Roth contributions by employees to 401(k) plans has jumped from $20,500 to $22,500, and the annual limit for “catch-up” contributions to such
Since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, courts around the country have overwhelmingly rejected ERISA fiduciary-breach claims by 401(k) plan participants seeking relief related to investments in company stock funds. The Seventh Circuit recently continued that trend by affirming the dismissal of claims brought by participants in the Boeing 401(k) plan, but did so on grounds that (i) the fiduciary responsibilities associated with the company stock fund had been delegated to an independent fiduciary, and (ii) the insider fiduciaries had no duty to disclose corporate inside information to the plan participants or the independent fiduciary. Burke v. The Boeing Co., No. 20-3389 (7th Cir. Aug. 1, 2022). As discussed below, the Seventh Circuit’s opinion provides helpful guidance to plan sponsors and fiduciaries that go beyond the specific circumstances presented in the case.
A federal district court in New York recently granted Omnicom Group Inc.’s (“Omnicom’s”) motion to dismiss, for lack of Article III standing, claims challenging the offering of investment options in Omnicom’s 401(k) plan in which the plaintiff participants did not invest. The court denied Omnicom’s motion to dismiss, however, with respect to the remainder of
The DOL recently issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2021-01, blessing the PBGC’s Missing Participant Program as an additional method of addressing a perennial issue in 401(k) terminations – the problem of missing participants and beneficiaries with remaining account balances.
Background.
After a defined contribution plan’s termination, DOL regulations provide a safe harbor allowing the
In this episode of the Proskauer Benefits Brief, partner Robert Projansky and special guest Garrett Fenton, senior attorney at Microsoft Corporation, discuss cyber theft of 401(k) plan accounts. Tune in as we discuss why 401(k) plans are vulnerable to cyber security breaches, what kinds of cyber security frauds we are seeing in 401(k) plans, evolving litigation on these issues and steps plan sponsors can take to mitigate risk.
A federal district court in Georgia recently dismissed claims brought by a participant in the Rollins, Inc. 401(k) Plan (the “Plan”), on behalf of a putative class of all plan participants, alleging that defendants breached their fiduciary duties by charging excessive recordkeeping fees, selecting and retaining costly and underperforming funds in the Plan and failing
A federal district court in Illinois recently dismissed “excessive fee” and “imprudent investment” claims against the plan fiduciaries of the CareerBuilder 401(k) plan fiduciaries, relying largely on the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Divane v. Northwestern University, 953 F.3d 980 (7th Cir. 2020). (Our blog on the Divane decision is available here.) In the
As recent history has shown, ERISA claims seeking recovery of investment losses tend to proliferate during times of market volatility. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents a unique opportunity for plaintiffs to search for and bring fiduciary-breach claims based on the underperformance of company stock funds and other available investment options in 401(k) and 403(b) plans.
