Status of the DOL Fiduciary Rule: Key Issues for Plan Sponsors and Service Providers
A live 90-minute premium CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A
This CLE webinar will guide employee benefits counsel in understanding the practical implications for retirement plan sponsors, advisers, and other service providers of the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) current regulations regarding investment advice fiduciaries for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code). The panel will review the DOL’s latest attempt to change its regulation defining “investment advice,” the legal challenges it has faced, and the future of the regulation in light of such challenges and the results of the recent Presidential and Congressional elections. The panel will also explain what fiduciaries must do now with regard to ERISA and Code compliance.
Outline
- Overview of the history of the DOL’s efforts to amend its regulation defining the term “investment advice”
- Overview of the 2024 final Retirement Security Rule
- Overview of the 2024 final amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2020-02, PTE 84-24, and other PTEs
- Overview of the recent legal challenges to the Retirement Security Rule and related PTEs
- Discussion of how recent legal challenges and Presidential and Congressional elections will impact the future of the Retirement Security Rule and the related PTE amendments
- Provide guidance regarding what plan fiduciaries should do now
Benefits
The panel will discuss these and other key issues:
- Review the history of the DOL’s attempts to redefine the term “investment advice”
- Unpack the 2024 Retirement Security Rule and amendments to PTE 2020-02, PTE 84-24, and other exemptions and discuss key issues for plan sponsors, advisers, and other service providers
- Summarize the legal challenges to the Retirement Security Rule and amended exemptions and how recent Federal elections may have an impact
- Explain what the current definition of fiduciary “investment advice” for purposes of ERISA and the Code is and what exemptions apply
- Address what ERISA plan and IRA fiduciaries should do today
Faculty
David C. Kaleda
Principal
Groom Law Group
Mr. Kaleda's broad range of experience includes handling fiduciary matters impacting plan sponsors, investment... | Read More
Mr. Kaleda's broad range of experience includes handling fiduciary matters impacting plan sponsors, investment and other fiduciary committees, investment managers/advisors, recordkeepers, broker-dealers, banks and other financial services firms. He advises clients on the avoidance and resolution of prohibited transaction issues, the structuring of alternative investment funds, and day-to-day compliance issues arising under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. He also counsels clients on compliance with the Department of Labor’s final “investment advice” regulation and related exemptions.
Close
David C. Olstein
Partner
Hogan Lovells
Mr. Olstein’s practice focuses on the fiduciary responsibility provisions of ERISA and the prohibited transaction... | Read More
Mr. Olstein’s practice focuses on the fiduciary responsibility provisions of ERISA and the prohibited transaction excise tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. He has an extensive background advising financial institutions, plan sponsors, and investment committees on ERISA matters, including compliance with ERISA’s fiduciary duty and prohibited transaction rules, in connection with the investment of pension plan assets. Mr. Olstein regularly advises fund sponsors on the application of ERISA’s “plan asset” rules as they relate to the establishment and operation of private investment funds. From representing issuers and underwriters in connection with marketing securities to investors, to advising plan sponsors and independent fiduciaries in connection with the selection of annuity providers, he offers substantial experience at the intersection of ERISA and fiduciary responsibility. Mr. Olstein is an active member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation and the New York City Bar Associati
Close
Alexander P. Ryan
Partner
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Mr. Ryan is a partner in the Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits Department, specializing in ERISA Title I... | Read More
Mr. Ryan is a partner in the Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits Department, specializing in ERISA Title I matters. He advises plan sponsors and plan service providers with respect to a range of fiduciary issues arising under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code, including Department of Labor guidance and regulations. Mr. Ryan's work focuses on a variety of investment-related matters, including issues arising under the fiduciary and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA related to the structure, design, and implementation of various investment products, such as private equity, real estate, hedge funds, commodity and real assets funds, and many others. He has substantial experience applying ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules to these types of investment products. In addition to his transactional work, he represents clients in DOL enforcement actions and investigations. Mr. Ryan has been recognized as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA (2023) for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (District of Columbia).
Close