Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS has issued further guidance on Trump Accounts addressing employer contributions and eligible investments in which Trump Account funds may be invested.
We discuss the new guidance in our Legal Update here. As discussed in our prior blog posts, including “Trump Accounts: The New Kid on the IRA Block” and “No ERISA
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Technical Release 2026-02, which clarifies that neither Trump Accounts nor employer contributions to Trump Accounts are considered “employee pension benefit plans” under Section 3(2) of ERISA. For additional information about Trump Accounts, please see our prior to blog posts here and here.
The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act and related Treasury guidance previously provided the following parameters for employer and employee contributions to Trump Accounts:
Seyfarth Synopsis: Two unpublished decisions involving the same change in control severance plan went in opposite directions on the standard of review. In 2026, the Fifth Circuit applied abuse of discretion based on plan language delegating interpretive authority to the administrator. In 2025, the Tenth Circuit applied de novo review to similar facts involving
If you are tired of keeping track of which retirement plan investments are deemed “good” and which are suddenly “bad”, we have encouraging news. The Department of Labor’s (“DOL’s”) latest proposed rule goes back to the fundamentals and our favorite mantra—it’s not what you pick, it’s how you pick it.
The DOL’s proposed
Benefits and Beyond: What Happens to PTO, Health Insurance, Retirement Plans, and other Benefits?
When an employee passes away, their benefits don’t just vanish into the HR ether. There’s a surprising amount of paperwork, plan rules, and tax codes that come into play—and yes, you’ll probably need to call your benefits administrator (and maybe your
Let’s face it—no one wants to think about what happens when an employee dies. It’s a deeply human moment, and yet, somewhere between the condolences and the memorial service, someone in Human Resources is quietly asking: “So… what do we do about their final pay?”
It’s not cold-hearted—it’s compliance. When an employee passes away, employers
In this episode, Richard is joined by Alan Wilmit, serving as co-host, as they welcome Ada Dolph, a Partner in Seyfarth’s ERISA Litigation group, to unpack the complexities of pension risk transfers (PRTs). Ada explains what PRTs are, how they’re used to manage pension liabilities, and why they’re drawing increased scrutiny. The conversation covers
Seyfarth Synopsis: Just before its summer recess, the Supreme Court agreed to review whether multiemployer pension funds can impose withdrawal liability based on actuarial assumptions adopted after the relevant plan year. The expected decision may have significant implications for employers’ ability to assess the impact of a contemplated withdrawal.
At the end of June, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in M & K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 23-1209 (U.S. June 30, 2025 amended July 3, 2025) to consider an important question in calculating how much employers withdrawing from multiemployer pension funds are legally obligated to pay.
Withdrawing employers have to pay a portion of the fund’s unfunded vested benefits (i.e. the amount of vested benefits that a fund is legally obligated to pay but for which the fund does not have sufficient assets to meet). The withdrawal liability calculation is to be determined based on the fund’s financials as of the end of the plan year before the withdrawal. It can take many funds six months if not more after the end of a plan year to finalize their year-end financials and thus be able to issue a withdrawal liability assessment in the following plan year. In that interim, as the financials are being finalized, fund actuaries have on occasion changed actuarial assumptions, such as interest rates or mortality tables, retroactive to the prior plan year.
Continue Reading Changing Last Year’s Assumptions This Year: Gotcha or Copacetic?
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Two courts. Two opposite rulings. One critical question: Do plaintiffs have standing to challenge pension risk transfers under ERISA?
In the first two decisions to address Article III standing in this rising wave of class actions, federal courts in Maryland and D.C. have landed on opposing sides. One case will head to discovery; the other