Nevin Adams

Fiduciary Rule Litigation (Still) Lingers

By Nevin Adams 7/9/2018

If you thought all the fiduciary rule litigation was over, think again. Turns out that litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota is still, well — pending. The case – Thrivent Financial for Lutherans initially brought suit challenging a requirement contained in the... READ MORE

Fiduciary Rule Litigation (Still) Lingers

By Nevin Adams 7/9/2018

5 Plan Committee Lessons from the Second Continental Congress

By Nevin Adams 7/6/2018

As we celebrate the Declaration that marks the birth of this nation, it seems a good time to reflect on some lessons from that experience that hold true even today. Inertia is a powerful force. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened, the “shot heard round the world” had already been... READ MORE

Massachusetts Charges MetLife with Misleading on Pension Payments

By Nevin Adams 6/26/2018

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin has charged MetLife with making misleading statements relating to its failure to make pension payments to hundreds of Massachusetts retirees.The complaint filed by Galvin’s office alleges that MetLife’s public filings contained material... READ MORE

Feel Lucky?

By Nevin Adams 6/25/2018

One of my favorite cinematic quotes is from that Clint Eastwood classic, “Dirty Harry.”It comes at the very beginning of the movie — there’s a bank robbery in process, and Clint Eastwood (in the personage of Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan) is trying to wolf down a hot dog when the commotion... READ MORE

So, How Much Should a 35-Year-Old Have Saved?

By Nevin Adams 6/25/2018

You may have missed it, but there was a bit of a “twitter storm” regarding retirement recently.More specifically, a relatively innocuous post about how much a 30-year-old should have saved toward retirement got a lot of 35-year-olds stirred up. The CBSMarketwatch article quoted Fidelity as saying... READ MORE

It’s Official: The Fiduciary Rule Is Dead

By Nevin Adams 6/21/2018

After weeks of anticipation, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals finally issued its mandate vacating the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule on June 21. The industry had been anxiously waiting as one key deadline, and then another, came and went. Just two weeks ago, the victorious plaintiffs in... READ MORE

Judge Orders Production of Facebook Posts in Excessive Fee Suit

By Nevin Adams 6/20/2018

In what looks to be a first in excessive fee litigation, a court has ordered plaintiffs to produce some Facebook posts.In this excessive fee suit, the plaintiffs charge — as others have in similar actions — that the fiduciaries of the $5.1 billion Anthem 401(k) Plan (formerly the WellPoint 401(k)... READ MORE

Small Biz Health Care Concerns? DOL Says There’s an ‘AHP’ for That

By Nevin Adams 6/20/2018

The Department of Labor (DOL) has unveiled the much-anticipated final version of a rule that allows more small businesses and self-employed workers to band together to buy health insurance — and may have dropped a small hint about retirement multiple employer plans (MEPs). The association health... READ MORE

(Re)Solving the Retirement ‘Crisis’

By Nevin Adams 6/18/2018

Several weeks back, I was invited to participate in a group conversation on retirement and the future of prosperity. The group of 15 (they’re listed at the end of the document that summarized the conclusions) that Politico pulled together was diverse, both in background and philosophies, and... READ MORE

401(k) Excessive Fee Suit Alleges Issues with ETFs, TDFs, and Menu Size

By Nevin Adams 6/11/2018

Another provider has been sued by an employee-participant in its own 401(k) plan, not just for its inclusion of proprietary funds, but the type and number of options on its menu — and its target-date strategy.The suit, filed by participant-plaintiff Diego Cervantes in the U.S. District Court for... READ MORE

More or Less?

By Nevin Adams 6/10/2018

Recently, the Wall Street Journal’s Anne Tergesen wrote a story titled, “Mixed Bag for Auto-enrollment.” Citing data presented at the recent EBRI Policy Forum,1 the article claimed that “employees who are automatically enrolled in their workplace savings plans save less than those who sign up on... READ MORE

EBSA Threats of ‘Alternative Enforcement Actions’ Trigger ARA Response

By Nevin Adams 6/8/2018

A regional office of the Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) has been threatening enforcement actions against plan sponsors who correct the late deposit of participant contributions or loan repayments without making a formal submission under the DOL’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction... READ MORE

Plaintiffs Press for Fiduciary Rule 'Closure'

By Nevin Adams 6/7/2018

The victorious plaintiffs in litigation vacating the Labor Department's fiduciary rule would like the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to put the rule — and the financial services industry at large — out of its collective "misery."In a letter to the Clerk of Court for the U.S. Court of... READ MORE

House Subcommittee Chair, Ranking Member Press IRS for VCP Update

By Nevin Adams 6/6/2018

Following a House subcommittee hearing, the Chairman and Ranking Member want some answers from the IRS on changes that dramatically increased the cost to small plans of correcting plan mistakes. In a letter to Sunita Lough, Commissioner of the IRS’s Tax Exempt/Government Entities (TEGE) division,... READ MORE

Debt ‘Limits’ — Causation, Correlation or Coincidence?

By Nevin Adams 6/1/2018

You have to wonder what the Wall Street Journal has against automatic enrollment. The latest instance of finding the cloud in this silver lining arose in a recent Journal article by Anne Tergesen, “Downside of Automatic 401(k) Savings: More Debt” (subscription required). The article, based on the... READ MORE

Senate Dems Push for SCOTUS Scrutiny on Fiduciary Rule

By Nevin Adams 5/22/2018

Five key Senate Democrats are concerned about the Department of Labor's (DOL) current lack of defense of the fiduciary rule — and they want to know what the DOL plans to do going forward. The May 17 letter, addressed to Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta and signed by Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA),... READ MORE

Crisis ‘Management’

By Nevin Adams 5/18/2018

Rarely a week goes by that a headline, survey or academic paper doesn’t proclaim the reality of a retirement crisis with the certainty generally reserved for topics like the existence of gravity, or the notion that the sun will rise in the east.And certainly based on the data cited, there would... READ MORE

States Ask 5th Circuit to Reconsider Fiduciary Ruling

By Nevin Adams 5/18/2018

The states of California, New York and Oregon have asked the 5th Circuit to reconsider its decision denying the states’ motion to intervene in litigation involving the DOL fiduciary rule. In a filing on May 16, the states explain that since the federal government “is no longer pursuing this appeal... READ MORE

Philips Strikes a $17 Million Settlement

By Nevin Adams 5/15/2018

Less than a week after the suit was filed — but (apparently) after six months of arm’s length negotiation with the assistance of a national mediator, the parties in an excessive fee suit have come to terms.According to the settlement agreement (Ramsey v. Philips North America LLC, S.D. Ill., No. 3:... READ MORE

You are here

Nevin Adams

Pages

Most Popular