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Portal Conductor, Columnist: Nevin E. Adams, JD

Nevin is the American Retirement Association’s Chief Content Officer and serves as Editor in Chief of NAPA Net and NAPA Net the Magazine.

Previously he was the Employee Benefits Research Institute’s Director of Education and External Relations, Co-Director of EBRI’s Center for Research on Retirement Income and Director of the American Savings Education Council.

Nevin spent a dozen years as Global Editor-in-Chief of PLANSPONSOR magazine and PLANSPONSOR.com, as well as the PLANADVISER Europe and PLANSPONSOR Europe magazines. He was the creator, writer and publisher of PLANSPONSOR.com’s NewsDash, and was instrumental in launching the publication’s popular and distinctive conference series.

He also worked at Northern Trust in Chicago in a variety of management roles, culminating in the development of a proprietary recordkeeping platform, and at Wachovia Bank, leading their defined contribution/recordkeeping businesses.

He has been honored three times by the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) with their Media Recognition Award (in 2002, 2004 and 2013), and was listed as one of the Most Influential People in Defined Contribution by the 401kWire for five consecutive years.



Article Index

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/27/2024
A suit that alleged a breach of fiduciary duty in the selection of proprietary funds that were said to be underperforming has been dismissed for failure to state a claim. The plan in question is the $1.5 billion, 5,500 participant AllianceBernstein 401(k) plan, and participant-plaintiffs Donald S... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/26/2024
A recent “news” post about a blog post finds some curious “faults” with the 401(k). The news item carried the provocative title “‘Rich Dad’ Robert Kiyosaki Reveals Why the 401(k) Is a ‘Horrible’ Retirement Plan.” It originally ran on GoBankingRates.com, but was subsequently picked up in... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/25/2024
Another suit filed against flexPATH by the law firm of Schlichter Bogard, LLP has been dismissed—with prejudice—though it seems to have turned more on good outcomes than prudent processes. This suit (Mills v. Molina Healthcare, Inc., C.D. Cal., No. 2:22-cv-01813, complaint 3/18/22) was filed by... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/22/2024
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another workweek …and yet, just look at what has happened to these guys and gals… Historic covered bridges are under threat by truck drivers relying on GPS meant for cars. And we have the pictures to prove it...   A NEW study has identified that you are... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/19/2024
An interesting—and somewhat counterintuitive—report came out last week, one that cast doubt on the “common wisdom” regarding Roth versus traditional pre-tax savings. The assumption underlying the research[i] was that those who had not yet paid taxes on their savings (the traditional pre-tax... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/19/2024
March is coming in like a lion with a new “genre” of ERISA litigation. While it’s early yet, two—and now three—recent suits—filed by different law firms in different federal district courts—might be the first of a new wave of litigation. All focus on decisions to mitigate corporate risk exposure... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/15/2024
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another workweek…and yet, just look at what has happened to these guys and gals… In Woodland Hills, California, they’re building a new walking bridge across some busy highways here…but you probably won’t be using it…  From somewhere in the UK, George... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/14/2024
In a lengthy filing (109 pages), Yale University says the plaintiffs who lost their excessive fee case in a jury trial shouldn’t get a “do over.” More specifically, the Yale fiduciary defendants in that case have filed the aforementioned brief stating that the Second Circuit need not concern... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/12/2024
As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, I’m reminded of a trip my younger brother and I made with my grandparents to the Great Smoky Mountains.  Now, my grandparents had made many trips to that area, but it was a new experience for me and my brother. To this day I remember a hotel that had a pool with a... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/12/2024
An excessive fee suit decision that starts out noting that the “defendants are fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan that, between 2016 and 2022, substantially reduced the recordkeeping fees charged to plan participants” doesn’t bode well for the plaintiffs. And in fact, the very next sentence—from U.S.... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/8/2024
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another workweek…and yet, just look at what has happened to these guys and gals… In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Bellagio paused its famous fountains as it welcomed one of “the most exclusive guests”…  In Kennesaw, Georgia, an unnamed woman had an unspecified... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/5/2024
I’m not sure how old I was when I first saw “Night of the Living Dead”—but I have long been intrigued by stories of a zombie apocalypse—where mindless beings inexplicably rise from the dead, with no memory of their past, just a relentless (and apparently insatiable) hunger for…well, “us.” That is... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/5/2024
The parties in yet another 401(k) excessive fee suit have come to terms after two years of litigation. The suit in question involved the fiduciaries of the $5.2 billion L3Harris Retirement Savings Plan—a suit that in March 2022 claimed the participant-plaintiffs had exhausted their administrative... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 3/1/2024
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another workweek … and another month … yet, just look at what happened to these guys and gals… In Ave Maria, Florida, an unnamed couple encountered a whole new (and uniquely Floridian) golf hazard … and yes, we have video…  Why do we do leap day?   While... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 2/29/2024
The ink was barely dry on the denial of a motion to dismiss the suit, when American Airlines filed a motion of summary judgement, claiming that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the [movant] is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Where We’ve Been Participant-plaintiff (... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 2/28/2024
A big plan has struck a big cash settlement in an excessive fee suit involving the use of proprietary investment products in its 401(k) plan. The suit was brought by a number of plaintiff-participants relating to the management of the New York Life Insurance Company Employee Progress-Sharing... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 2/27/2024
Last week we explored the reasons why small businesses DON’T offer a retirement plan to their workers. But there are quite different—and positive—reasons for choosing to do so. The obstacles that keep most small businesses from offering a retirement plan to their workers are an assortment of... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 2/27/2024
Litigation that involved a multiple employer plan (MEP), merging plans, a 3(38) investment advisor, a plan sponsor—and at one point an advisor (NFP)—has been resolved in favor of the fiduciary defendants, while reminding us of the value and importance of a prudent process in target-date fund... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 2/23/2024
Well, here we are again at the end of yet another workweek…and yet, just look at what has happened to these guys and gals… In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a recent collision between an Amazon van….and an Amtrak train…got caught on video… nobody hurt (incredibly—driver missed by INCHES), but some shocking... READ MORE
By Nevin E. Adams, JD 2/23/2024
Looks like an American Airlines participant-plaintiff who argued that plan fiduciaries didn’t act in participants’ best interests in including funds managed by firms that allegedly favored ESG interests will get his day in court. Participant-plaintiff (and pilot) Bryan P. Spence filed suit in the... READ MORE

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