Article Abstract:
The US Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor (DOL) have both issued new guidelines pertinent to plan sponsor amd multiemployer plan trustees to guarantee deference of retirement plants to the fiduciary provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Plan managers have been cautioned on matters such as Year 2000 computer problem in recognition of the problems in retirement benefit determination if not addressed. The DOL also cautions plan administrators on other issues such as worker misclassification, misrepresentation, and disclosure.
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Article Abstract:
There is a growing trend to limit ERISA's traditional preemption of state laws. Contributing significantly to this trend is the Dept. of Labor, which has been actively filing amicus briefs in courts throughout the country to confine the Act's preemptive power to state laws that directly concern employee benefit plans. Another development undermining ERISA preemption is the decision of the Utah Supreme Court in the 'Harmon City Inc. v. Neilsen & Senior' case that denied ERISA preemption of state malpractice and breach of contract claims.
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Article Abstract:
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a pension plan participant's letter to a qualified plan trustee to request a distribution of the participant's interest in the plan does not constitute a valid consent to a distribution under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. In The case of Franklin v. Thornton, the court found that the participant was not given an explanation of her options under applicable Internal Revenue Service regulations.
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