'ES' Beneficiary Designation on Insurance Form Thrown Out
February 3, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A federal appeals court has ruled that a man who entered a relationship code on a life insurance beneficiary designation form to indicate...
Compliance
State Law Claims are Valid for Employees No Longer Participants
February 3, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US District Court for the Western District of New York has remanded the state law claims of employees who no longer qualified...
CA Lawmaker to Propose 'Wal-Mart' Health Coverage Bill
February 3, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - California may join a handful of other states in pressuring Wal-Mart and other large employers to beef up their employee health care coverage...
Participant Not Required by Investment Agreement to Arbitrate Claim
February 3, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a participant is not required to enter arbitration based on the investment management...
EBSA Changes Prohibited Class Transaction Rules
February 2, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has put out two amendments to class exemptions allowing plans to conduct transactions...
Staffing Agency Worker Not Entitled to Benefits
February 2, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana has ruled that a woman who worked for a company for 11 years,...
Energy Firm Cleared of Co Stock Fiduciary Breach
February 2, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A federal judge in Texas has cleared Reliant Energy of charges that it breached its fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security...
Health Care Plan Administrator Cannot Limit Enrollment of Employee on Leave
February 1, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US District Court for the District of South Dakota has ruled that a health care plan administrator cannot limit the special enrollment...
PBGC Takes Furniture Chain's Plan
February 1, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The nation's insurer of private-sector pension plans has assumed responsibility for a pension plan covering nearly 2,000 former workers for a bankrupt Atlanta-based...
Germans to Bump up Retirement Age to 67 from 65
February 1, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A government official said Wednesday that the German government will raise the country's retirement age in steps to 67 from 65 by 2029...
Court Gives Go Ahead for Benefits Interference Case
February 1, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has given three former employees the green light to continue their lawsuit alleging...
IRS to Step Up Retirement Plan Examinations
January 31, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Internal Revenue Service will increase examinations of companies' retirement plans this year, with plans to perform focused exams on about 9,000 companies...
CA Court Deems Missed Break Payments are Penalties
January 31, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A California state appellate court has handed employers a victory by ruling that payments owed to current and former employees for not providing...
Court: Open Door Policy Was Bogus
January 31, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US 1st Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's award of punitive damages to a Wal-Mart of Puerto Rico employee...
Iowa Lawmakers Debate Pension Tax Bill
January 30, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - State of Iowa lawmakers are set this week to consider a plan by House Republicans to drop the state's income tax on pension...
EEOC Implements Final Revisions to Employer Information Report
January 30, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced the implementation of final revisions to the Employer Information Report, or EEO-1 Form.
EBSA Achieves $1.7 Billion in Enforcement Actions Results
January 30, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) achieved $1.7 billion in results from actions to enforce the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) during...
Gender Reassignment not a Deductible Medical Expense
January 27, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a memorandum that costs for gender reassignment surgery and related medications, treatment, and transportation may not be...
PBGC Enhances Reporting and Disclosure Web Application
January 27, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has updated its e-4010 Web-based application for reporting financial, actuarial and other identifying information in compliance with...
MI Court Forfeits Ex-Clerk's Retirement Benefits
January 27, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A Michigan judge has approved a prosecutor's request that a former township clerk convicted of embezzling $62,000 be required to give up any...