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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 5/23/2019
If you think you’ve had a bad week, just remember – it could have been worse. Check out what happened to these guys (and gals)…
In Ashland, Wisconsin, law enforcement received a report of a stolen vehicle about 5:43 a.m…. Fortunately, later that day the owner located the vehicle… undamaged…...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/23/2019
As the Memorial Day holiday (and, as tradition holds, summer vacation, generally) approaches, it’s time once again to pick the best song(s) about retirement.
We’ve done this for several years now – and each year has brought together a different playlist. So, as you crank up the tunes – in your car...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/21/2019
I was late to the Game of Thrones – and though its final season seems a bit “rushed” – there has been plenty to not only watch, but mull over in its eight-season run. And yet, as the series wound to a close on Sunday night, I kept thinking there were some lessons for retirement amidst the mayhem...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/21/2019
Disqualification of an expert witness “is a drastic measure that courts should impose only hesitantly, reluctantly, and rarely.” Thus begins a rebuttal to an attempt to disqualify well-known ERISA attorney Marcia Wagner as an expert witness in an excessive fee case.
The plaintiffs in the case,...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/20/2019
As the Memorial Day holiday (and, as tradition holds, summer vacation, generally) approaches, it’s time once again to pick the best song(s) about retirement.
We’ve done this for several years now – and each year has brought together a different playlist. So, as you crank up the tunes – in your car...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/17/2019
If you think you’ve had a bad week, just remember – it could have been worse. Check out what happened to these guys (and gals)…
In Key West, Florida, Shonta Bolds, 36, was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon… after an unnamed man reportedly began taking video of her… so, what...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/17/2019
There has been a lot of litigation in recent months alleging excessive fees and an imprudent reliance on proprietary funds by asset manager’s own 401(k) plans. But a new study finds some interesting differences in plan design and participation.
The findings are captured in a recent white paper...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/17/2019
The IRS recently made it easier (and less costly) to fix certain operational issues without the need for an IRS filing or payment of a user fee – but will this have an impact on current usage?
The vast majority (84%) of this weeks’ respondents said their plan sponsor clients that needed to, did...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/16/2019
Another excessive fee suit settles just ahead of its scheduled trial date.
In the latest such settlement, SEI Investments Co. struck a deal that would resolve allegations that the firm filled its 401(k) plan with expensive and poorly performing funds that earned fees for the company and its...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/14/2019
Mothers give us a lot, not the least of which is life itself. But as I was reading through all the accolades on social media over the weekend, I couldn’t help but be reminded of all my mother gave me.
As is the case in many families, “Mom” was our family’s CFO. See, like many in his generation, my...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/13/2019
The IRS recently made it easier (and less costly) to fix certain operational issues without the need for an IRS filing or payment of a user fee. This week, a reader asks: “Do your clients use the DOL and IRS correction programs?”
If you missed it, the IRS made it a truly “good” Friday when, in a...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/13/2019
Another fund manager strikes a deal in an excessive fee brought by a former participant – just days before the matter was scheduled to go to trial.
This suit involved MFS and its actions as plan fiduciary with its two defined contribution plans. A notice of settlement states that “the parties...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/10/2019
If you think you’ve had a bad week, just remember — it could have been worse. Check out what happened to these guys (and gals)…
In Melbourne, Australia, Bradley Vogt, 28, for unknown reasons decided to flood the building where he lived…by opening a fire hydrant…well, more than one fire hydrant,...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/10/2019
Last week Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta appeared to confirm that the Department of Labor will issue a new fiduciary rule. This week, we asked readers to weigh in on that prospect – and its prospects.
Remember that after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the DOL’s previous...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/8/2019
The parties in a suit brought against Eaton Vance by a participant in its $434 million plan for loading up its 401(k) plan with relatively expensive proprietary investment options that allegedly performed poorly have announced the terms of their settlement.
The suit, filed in October 2018 in the U...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/8/2019
A $24 million settlement – including an $8 million attorneys’ fee for plaintiffs’ counsel – has been approved in an excessive fee suit.
Judge Catherine C. Eagles of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina signed the final approval order in the case involving BB&T and...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/7/2019
The 2019 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) found a continued increase in retirement confidence – but some were more likely to be confident than others.
Confidence about retirement is one thing, of course, and preparation something else, though the two are logically intertwined. That said, for...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/7/2019
The successful appeal of an excessive fee suit dismissal has triggered a review of another decision.
The suit, involving the University of Pennsylvania Matching Plan, was given new life following an appellate court’s remand following dismissal by the district court.
In 2015, Investment manager...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/6/2019
“In the interest of efficiency and to avoid wasting the resources of the Court and the parties,” just five days before their trial date, the parties in an excessive fee suit have come to terms.
This time it’s the investment advisor to the plan AON Hewitt Investment Consulting, Inc. – and their...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 5/3/2019
A reader notes, “the MEP topic at the NAPA 401(k) Summit sparked some interesting discussion among advisors during the peer session” – and did so again in this week’s NAPA-Net Reader Poll.
MEPs, or multiple employer plans – more specifically “open” MEPs – have long been touted as at least a...
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