As an ERISA attorney, I hear it all the time. Whether it\u2019s from plan sponsors, their non-ERISA attorneys, or even from some other ERISA attorneys, is that the fear of any trouble with a breach of fiduciary responsibility is completely overblown. I disagree because the fear is not where you think it is.<\/p>\n
The reason I hear that any fear from a fiduciary breach is negligible because the plan we\u2019re talking about is a small to medium sized plan. \u00a0These \u201cexperts\u201d claim that any potential fiduciary breach is negligible because it\u2019s very unlikely any aggrieved current or former plan participant will sue them.<\/p>\n
Well, pal, we have more to fear than any participant lawsuit. The Department of Labor (DOL) is very serious about enforcing ERISA and the regulations they promulgated. A small to medium sized plan that isn\u2019t operating appropriately will be at the mercy of any DOL agent.<\/p>\n
How will these DOL audits come about? They could be random, but more likely, as a result of a complaint by a current or former participant. \u00a0If you\u2019re a small plan sponsor, do you want to be at the mercy of someone you might have laid off or a problem employee? There is an old saying that \u201cfor the want of a nail, a kingdom was lost.\u201d When it comes to a retirement plan, for the want of an aggrieved participant, a lot of liability was created.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As an ERISA attorney, I hear it all the time. Whether it\u2019s from plan sponsors, their non-ERISA attorneys, or even from some other ERISA attorneys, is that the fear of any trouble with a breach of fiduciary responsibility is completely … Continue reading