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Portal Conductor, Columnist: Nevin E. Adams, JD
Nevin is the former Chief Content Officer and Head of Retirement Research for the American Retirement Association. One of the retirement industry’s most prolific writers, these days he’s “retired,” which means he writes less, but continues to keep his eye on developments in, and threats to, the nation’s private retirement system.
In addition to helping guide the agenda development for the NAPA 401(k) Summit, he’s also the “Nevin” in the Nevin & Fred podcast (along with renowned ERISA attorney Fred Reish), offering irreverent, but relevant perspectives on the critical issues confronting plan sponsors, advisors, and retirement industry professionals.
Article Index
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/22/2024
A federal judge stands ready to approve an excessive fee settlement proposal—but not the requested attorney fees.
The settlement was struck between participant-plaintiffs Brian Reichert and Derek Deviny and Juniper Networks, Inc.—the terms announced roughly a year ago. The suit in question had...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/19/2024
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another workweek …and just look at what has happened to these guys and gals…
In Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, LuLu Lotus discovered a unique “talent”… and has leveraged that into a truly bizarre acknowledgement in the Guiness record books… and yes, there’s...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/17/2024
Another of the 401(k) plans sued for offsetting company contributions with plan forfeitures rather than reallocating them to participant accounts, has filed a motion to dismiss the suit.
The action comes after similar motions to dismiss filed by three (and now four) of the five firms sued on those...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/16/2024
Despite long being called the “third rail” of American politics, Social Security—or more precisely its viability—has reemerged as an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign.
It came up most recently in a mini-GOP debate between former U.N. ambassador/South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and Florida...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/16/2024
Yet another of the plan fiduciaries sued for offsetting employer contributions with forfeitures has moved to dismiss the suit for failure to state a claim—taking a different approach than other such motions to dismiss have thus far.
This is, of course, one of five suits[i] filed against[ii] large...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/12/2024
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another workweek …and even though 2024 is (still) barely underway…well, just look at what happened to these guys and gals…
Interesting…for a while, anyway…
In Southern Victoria, Australia, an unnamed fisherman pulled an unusual creature from the sea. Do...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/12/2024
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued initial guidance to help employers with implementation of pension-linked emergency savings accounts (PLESAs).
Authorized under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, PLESAs are individual accounts in defined contribution (DC) plans—designed to permit and...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/9/2024
Two headlines on NAPA Net caught my eye this past weekend—provocative “what if” type questions.
I’m talking about “Will Retirement Income Solutions Finally Break Through in 2024?” and “Will Managed Accounts (Finally) Take Hold as QDIAs?” Both, of course, included the word “finally” in the title(s...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/9/2024
“If this is the law, then that would be news to Congress and the regulatory agencies, which have declared for decades that forfeitures can be used in this manner,” says a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging a fiduciary breach in offsetting employer contributions with forfeitures.
The motion to...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/8/2024
A federal judge has reviewed—and approved—an excessive fee settlement agreement, albeit with some modifications.
The participant-plaintiffs in this case are Salvador Aquino, Susan Ford, Monicalayle Garcia, Barbara Kraus, Martha Lopez, Francisco Martinez, Megan Sargent[i]—bringing suit on behalf of...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/5/2024
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another workweek …and even though 2024 is barely underway…well, just look at what happened to these guys and gals…
In Edmond, Oklahoma, Oakley is alive and well today…thanks to the actions of Binx…a cat…who saved Oakley, a dog from…well, you’re not going...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/2/2024
There is a “common wisdom” in our business that suggests that all plan sponsors are, more or less, alike; that large plans are the inevitable early adopters of trends that, sooner or later, trickle down to plans of all sizes.
Consequently, those who make their living trying to discern trends and...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 1/2/2024
A number of lawsuits have recently been filed regarding the alleged misuse of forfeitures—but just a couple of months ago a plan was sued—and lost—a case brought by the Labor Department for not following the plan document’s forfeiture provisions.
According to the Labor Department, on Dec. 27, 2017...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 12/29/2023
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another workweek …and another year—and yet, there’s (still) no shortage of…well, just look at what happened to these guys and gals…
In Boston, Massachusetts, things got a little too real in a live nativity scene here…with certain parties taking it on the “...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 12/28/2023
A billion-dollar plan has come to terms—cash and non-monetary terms—with participant-plaintiffs represented by Capozzi Adler that had made claims the plan paid $77 per participant, when plans of similar sizes were paying as little as $25 per participant.
The suit had been filed against Advance...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 12/26/2023
A brand new year awaits us – and with the New Year comes an opportunity to assess and reassess – for some when, resolutions for the cessation of bad behaviors and the beginning of better ones are in vogue. Here are some for plan fiduciaries for 2024 – that could benefit plan outcomes for years to...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 12/21/2023
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another—albeit shortened—workweek…and yet, there’s (still) no shortage of…well, just look at what happened to these guys and gals…
The Worst National Park Reviews of the Year, including classics like “There was nothing to do, I didn’t see a bear, and that...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 12/19/2023
“You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout…”
Those are, of course, the opening lyrics to that holiday classic, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” And while the tune is jaunty enough, the message—that there’s some kind of elfin “eye in the sky” keeping tabs on us—has always struck...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 12/19/2023
A new suit claims that the interest rates paid on Merrill Edge retirement accounts have lagged market trends and fallen short of the “reasonable” rates they claim to provide.
The suit was brought by one Margaret McCrary, who has filed a class action suit for breach of contract on behalf of herself...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 12/18/2023
Fiduciary defendants have moved to dismiss (with prejudice) a 401(k) suit that alleged a fiduciary breach in the use of forfeitures to offset company contributions saying, among other things, that the participant-plaintiff suffered no injury—and thus, had no standing to sue.
At a high level, the...
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