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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 4/16/2019
You may have missed it – but we just passed the anniversary of the 1912 sinking of the now iconic RMS Titanic, at the time the world’s largest ocean liner.
Its passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as a large number of emigrants seeking a new life in North...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/15/2019
Many of us in the retirement plan space didn’t plan to be here – and that’s often the case for plan sponsors as well.
Sure, many studied to work in human resources, others in treasury/finance – but working with retirement plans? This week, we’d like to know – what kind of training have your plan...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/12/2019
Issuing an executive order designed to “promote private investment in the Nation’s energy infrastructure,” the Trump administration has called for a review involving retirement plan investments.
The executive order directs the Secretary of Labor to, “within 180 days of the date of this order,...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/12/2019
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 Memphis, Tennessee, Joshua Scott told police that he had been carjacked… by a man who struck him in the face and stole his 2011 Nissan Sentra… Well, as it turns out,...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/11/2019
Claiming that “Fidelity literally has lined its pockets with at least hundreds of millions of dollars in secret payments by and through self-dealing, other prohibited transactions and breaches of its fiduciary duties,” a third suit has been filed by a participant in a plan served by the...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/10/2019
The parties in another long-standing excessive fee suit have come to terms – with some interesting twists in the terms of settlement.
The original lawsuit, filed in late 2015 in the Southern District of Indiana by the St. Louis-based law firm of Schlichter, Bogard & Denton, alleged that...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/8/2019
I’ve been working with retirement plans for my entire professional career, during which I have met, spoken with, and written to tens of thousands of plan sponsors. And yet, in all that time, and with all those people, I’ve not met more than a handful who had chosen that specific role as a career...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/4/2019
The Maryland Senate Finance Committee has overwhelmingly voted to recommend the rejection of a pending fiduciary bill.
In fact, 10 out of the 11 committee members voted in favor of a motion to consider Maryland Senate Bill 786 – The Financial Consumer Protection Act of 2019 – as “unfavorable.”...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/4/2019
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 Middlesex Township, Pennsylvania, Luis Felipe Menendez Marroquin, 28, was spotted by, and ultimately arrested for, speeding in a 55 mph zone on I-81 here… So how fast...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/4/2019
The headlines are full of the toll on productivity, health, and even wealth taken by stress, both inside and external to the workplace. How are NAPA-Net readers feeling?
Well, overall it seems that we’re all stressed as well. A plurality (37%) responded, “heck, yes!” to whether they were stressed...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/2/2019
Today is National Employee Benefits Day – and this year’s theme strikes a “resilient” note.
Not familiar with the commemoration? Well, it’s sponsored by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans – and it’s been designated as a day to honor the important work that trustees,...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/1/2019
The headlines are full of the toll on productivity, health, and even wealth taken by stress, both inside and external to the workplace. This week, we’d like to know – are you stressed?
A recent MetLife survey found that three of employees’ top five financial concerns relate directly to retirement...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 4/1/2019
While noting that the case “presents novel legal questions concerning state-mandated retirement savings accounts,” and “implicates a significant body of judicial and regulatory interpretations of ERISA,” a federal judge has ruled – for the moment – that California’s state-run auto IRA retirement...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/29/2019
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 Ephrata, Pennsylvania, police and fire personnel responded to a parking lot here about 4:25 a.m… to deal with a car that was on fire… ah, but what started the fire is...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/29/2019
Concluding that “DOL’s Final Rule stretches the definition of ‘employer’ beyond what ERISA’s text and purpose will bear,” a federal judge has thrown the Labor Department’s association health plan rule for a loss.
The association health plan (AHP) rule, finalized last June, claimed to make...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/29/2019
RFPs, or requests for proposal, have long been valued tools in advisor arsenals. There are, however, varying opinions as to what they should include, and even how often they should be issued – and you need look no further than this week’s reader poll to see just how varied.
Nearly two-thirds of...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/29/2019
The parties in one of the oldest excessive fee suits have finally come to terms.
Those parties – Tussey v. ABB – settled for $55 million which, if approved by a federal judge, would bring to conclusion litigation that was filed in 2005 by Schlichter Bogard & Denton.
The suit had alleged that...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/28/2019
A federal appeals court has affirmed summary judgment in a class action suit involving 270,000 plan participants across more than 13,000 plans.
The suit was filed in 2015 by plaintiff John Teets, a participant in the Farmers’ Rice Cooperative 401(k) Savings Plan, which had contracted with Great-...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/26/2019
Ever since passage of the Economic Growth Tax Relief and Recovery Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), individuals who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can make annual catch-up contributions – as much as $6,000 in 2019.
The provision was designed to allow workers to “catch up” on contributions...
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By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/25/2019
RFPs, or Requests for Proposal, have long been valued tools in advisor arsenals. There are, however, varying opinions as to what they should include, and even how often they should be issued. What’s your experience/opinion?
This week, we’d like to know about your experience(s) with RFPs. What you...
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