WASHINGTON, DC– The U.S.

CINCINNATI, OH – A Cincinnati pastor who collected $121,344 in pension funds and Social Security benefits under his deceased father’s name for more than four years will serve 180 days home confinement, and 3 years’ probation after pleading guilty in federal court in Ohio on Sept. 30, 2020.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced new guidance for plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, record keepers and plan participants on best practices for maintaining cybersecurity, including tips on how to protect the retirement benefits of America’s workers. This is the first time the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has issued cybersecurity guidance.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today issued guidance on fiduciary investment advice for retirement investors, employee benefit plans and investment advice providers. The guidance relates to the department’s “Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees” exemption and follows its Feb.

KANSAS CITY, MO – A consent order entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas has appointed Receivership Management Inc. – an independent fiduciary based in Madison, Tennessee – to serve as claims administrator and oversee employee benefit plans and assets previously administered by Medova Healthcare Financial Group.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today issued guidance implementing the American Rescue Plan’s Continuation of Health Coverage premium assistance provisions to provide full COBRA premium assistance to certain individuals who have experienced a reduction in hours or involuntary termination of employment.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S.

DETROIT – Under terms of a consent order and judgement entered in federal court, the fiduciaries of Deliver Dental Solutions Inc. 401(k) Plan and Trust have agreed to restore $42,488 to the Detroit-based employee benefit plan.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has confirmed that “Improving Investment Advice for Worker & Retirees,” an exemption for investment advice fiduciaries, will go into effect as scheduled on Feb. 16, 2021.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today the U.S. Department of Labor announced the appointment of five members and leadership for the 2021 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced guidance in its ongoing efforts to help plan fiduciaries meet their obligations under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing or nonresponsive participants.

Today’s guidance comes in three forms:

LOS ANGELES, CA – The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has sentenced John S. Romero – a former president of the United Industrial and Service Workers of America in Colton, California – to 12 years in prison for embezzling funds from the union’s health plan, conspiracy and making false statements on annual government filings.

WASHINTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today announced new guidance in its ongoing efforts to support the American workforce through the pandemic recovery. As employers continue to meet the challenges presented to their businesses by the coronavirus, and as telework arrangements and virtual communication increasingly provide solutions, the agency provides additional guidance to maximize the benefits of these arrangements for employers and workers alike.

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas against Wichita, Kansas-based Medova Healthcare Financial Group LLC, its president and CEO Daniel L. Whitney, chief operating officer Michelle Willson and Midlands Casualty Insurance Co. Inc.

SEATTLE, WA – The U.S. District Court of Oregon recently granted the U.S. Department of Labor’s motion for default judgment against Portland, Oregon-based National Security Retirement Plan LLC and Invest n’ Retire LLC for abandoning employer sponsored benefit plans while 31 participants’ assets, worth over $1,500,000, remained in them. The participants were employees of Retirement Solutions Advisors LLC, the National Association for Plan Liability and Keene Photography Studio.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a new exemption for investment advice fiduciaries.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule establishing a regulatory framework for private employee benefit plans’ fiduciaries to follow when they exercise shareholder rights, including proxy voting, and select and monitor proxy advisory firms.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury today announced a final rule that amends the requirements for grandfathered group health plans and grandfathered group health insurance coverage to preserve their grandfather status.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the IRS and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) today released advance informational copies of the 2020 Form 5500 Annual Return/Report and related instructions – including the Form 5500-SF and the IRS released Form 5500-EZ, which now also appears on the EBSA website.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – After an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota issued a consent order and judgment requiring the fiduciaries of Minneapolis, Minnesota-based The Sartell Group Inc. to restore $13,193 to The Sartell Group 401(k) employee retirement benefit plan.