ERISA Insights

The Fourth Circuit Affirms No Breach of ERISA’s Fiduciary Duties for “Cross-Selling” Efforts

Like the tides, the rules regarding ERISA’s fiduciary duties are constantly in flux. The Fourth Circuit recently ruled that while providing “investment advice for a fee” implicates those duties, pitching investment services does not. It also clarified that a fiduciary’s self-interest alone, without any action...

California Court Refuses to Decertify Class Action Based on Ninth Circuit’s Decision in Wit

In Wit v. United Behavioral Health, the Ninth Circuit recently rejected a lower court’s order certifying a class of participants in a dispute over behavioral health guidelines used to process claims for benefits. A California district court recently rejected Aetna’s motion to decertify an existing...

Courts Address Participant Standing to Challenge Fees and Payments Received by Group Health Plan Service Providers

As we recently suggested, ERISA disputes over the fees and expenses charged to employer or union sponsored group health plans may well become the next wave in ERISA litigation. At minimum, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 creates new disclosure obligations on service providers of...

Managed Accounts in 401(k) Plans: Their Value and Their Dangers

A “managed account” is a discretionary portfolio management service that makes investment decisions for individual participants within the confines of a 401(k) plan and its fund options. This service is fundamentally computerized advice (aka “robo” advice), but with the help of a personal representative. Managed...

Actuarial Equivalence Fight Goes to the First Circuit

Yet another battle in the actuarial equivalence fight has just been resolved—and is immediately headed for appellate review. In Belknap v. Partners Healthcare System, Inc., the Plaintiff argued that the annuity payment he received from his plan was not the “actuarial equivalent” of the single...