erisa – Duane Morris Benefits Law

The U.S. Department of Labor has issued final regulations for the processing of disability claims under certain benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The rules are effective for disability determinations filed on or after April 1, 2018.

Affected plans include disability benefit plans subject to ERISA and other ERISA plans that condition the payment of a benefit based upon a disability determination. This latter group of plans may include qualified retirement plans (such as defined benefit plans, 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans and 403(b) plans), as well as severance pay plans, nonqualified deferred compensation plans and supplemental retirement plans. Some programs that provide benefit payments upon a finding of disability may, however, be classified as payroll practices that are not subject to ERISA, and therefore not covered by these new rules.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris website.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal notes the apparent conflict of public pension fund investments in private equity. The article points to the fact that certain labor unions, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), have criticized private equity funds while their members sit on boards which authorize investments in such funds. A specific example citied is the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, which includes a representative of SEIU among its Board members, having increased its targeted private equity holdings. The article goes on to point out TV spots funded by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) which criticize Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney regarding his tenure at Bain Consulting.

Continue reading “The Private Equity Conundrum”