Allen Steinberg : Perspectives

Employee benefit plans—especially retirement and health care—have become an increasingly important part of the employment relationship. For employers, these plans represent an important part of the total compensation package, a tool for retention and recruitment, and a growing financial and compliance burden. For employees, these plans represent a key part of their overall financial security and wellbeing, a financial burden, and a source of complexity and frustration. In effect, it’s complicated. Our firm is dedicated to helping employers manage these complexities and focus on the important things.

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ryanne

05.06.2025 10.08 CDT

Congress and regulators ease plan corrections. This is welcome relief.

Expanded Self-Correction Options: A New Era of Flexibility

Congress and regulators ease plan corrections. This is welcome relief.

Correction error self-correction

Congress and regulators ease plan corrections. This is welcome relief.

ryanne

29.04.2025 09.40 CDT

The Supreme Court interprets ERISA to allow fiduciary claims to proceed based solely on allegations that a transaction occurs between a plan and a party in interest for goods or services, and places the burden on plan fiduciaries to prove that the fees paid are reasonable.

Tide of ERISA Litigation to Continue

A new Supreme Court ruling may further open the door to ERISA fiduciary claims.

Fiduciary prohibited transaction Supreme Court

Supreme Court decision simplifies allegations needed for plaintiffs’ claims of fiduciary misconduct to proceed.

Allen Steinberg

28.01.2025 01.57 CST

A federal court in Texas has ruled that American Airlines breached its duty of loyalty under ERISA by failing to respond to activities undertaken by a plan investment manager (BlackRock) supporting ESG initiatives. The court was unable to find a breach of prudence—rather it relied solely on the obligation of “loyalty.”

Spence v. American Airlines: Expanding the Playing Field for Fiduciary Liability?

A new ruling of fiduciary liability could cause fiduciaries to further examine firewalls between corporate policy and retirement plan management.

ESG Fiduciary Litigation

Federal court seeks to make ESG initiatives (even) riskier.

Allen Steinberg

06.01.2025 12.00 CST

Some trends that might affect retirement plans under Trump 2.0.

Trump 2.0: Some Predictions

Crypto ESG Litigation Regulations

The incoming administration has not articulated a benefits agenda. However, there are certain trends we can anticipate over the next few years.

erisachicago

10.09.2024 01.44 CDT

Two cases reach opposite conclusions on whether employers must use forfeitures to play plan expenses—and are (effectively) precluded from using them to reduce employer contributions.

New Front on Fiduciary Litigation?

Two cases reach opposite conclusions on whether employers must use forfeitures to play plan expenses—and are (effectively) precluded from using them to reduce employer contributions.

Fiduciary Forfeiture Litigation

In two recent court decisions (Hutchins v. HP Inc and Perez-Cruet v. Qualcomm Inc) plaintiffs claimed that employers’ decision to use forfeitures to reduce employer contributions (and not to pay for plan administrative expenses) was a breach of ERISA fiduciary responsibility. The courts reached opposite conclusions in these cases—with one court (Hutchins) dismissing the complaint and the other (Perez-Cruet) denying the motion to dismiss and allowing the case to proceed.