Compliance September 3, 2024

EBSA to Host Webinars on Health Plan Compliance, Retirement Planning

The Employee Benefits Security Administration announced upcoming webinars for employers, service providers and workers nearing retirement.

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The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration is hosting a series of webinars this week and next: two that will cover compliance with health benefits laws for employers, and one that will cover retirement planning for pre-retirees.

Federal regulators will host a two-part webinar on September 4 and 5 to discuss compliance with federal laws regarding health plans. The free webinars are targeted at small and midsize employers and plan service providers.

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Third-party administrators and carriers are also welcome to attend the webinars, which are organized by the DOL’s Health Benefits Campaign, and ask questions about new laws and guidance regarding health plans.

The webinars will discuss topics including the Affordable Care Act market reforms, mental health and substance use disorder parity, transparency in coverage, the No Surprises Act, prescription drug reporting, the prohibition on gag clauses, and compliance tips and tools, according to the announcement.

Registration for Part 1 of the webinar on September 4 can be found here, and registration for Part 2 on September 5 can be found here. Each will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. ET.

Separately, EBSA is hosting another webinar on September 10 for workers who are nearing retirement in the next 10 years.

“Retirement can seem mysterious which makes planning for it important,” EBSA wrote in its description of the webinar. “Women face additional challenges when saving for retirement which makes planning even more important. As we have seen in recent years, life has a way of throwing changes our way—so there is a need to protect these hard-earned retirement savings. Starting now and getting time on your side will help you be prepared when you want to want to retire.”

With speakers and a live Q&A session, the free webinar is aimed at helping workers nearing retirement “unravel the mystery of preparing for life after work.”

Speakers from EBSA, the Women’s Bureau, the Social Security Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will discuss key issues in planning for retirement, including:

  • Why it is important to plan ahead;
  • Challenges and circumstances women face in saving for retirement;
  • Making the most of the employer-provided plan and checking if retirement savings are on track;
  • Social Security and Medicare benefits; and
  • How to avoid financial abuse, fraud and scams.

The webinar will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. ET. Registration for the event can be found here.

Compliance September 3, 2024

Salesforce Settles a Pair of 401(k) Excessive Fee Suits

The $1.3 million settlement pertains to litigation from 2020 and 2024 against the $5 billion retirement plan.

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Salesforce Inc. has settled for $1.35 million a pair of outstanding 401(k) lawsuits alleging excessive retirement plan fees. The settlement requires court approval.

The agreement brings to a close about four years of litigation across two separate lawsuits, according to a motion filed August 23 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to Senior District Judge Maxine M. Chesney.

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Plaintiffs had alleged in separate suits, both filed in 2020, that Salesforce’s retirement plan committee and executives overseeing the $5 billion 401(k) plan had violated their fiduciary duty by allowing relatively high fees for certain investments and retaining some poor-performing investments. Miguel et al. v. Salesforce.com Inc. et al., filed in March 2020, and Simonelli et al. v. Salesforce.com Inc. et al. (initially filed as Villareal et al. v Salesforce.com, Inc et al.), filed in February 2024, were consolidated into one suit, as they alleged similar charges.

The class action settlement will go to more than 50,000 participants and their beneficiaries, and represents 13.5% of plaintiff’s “maximum recoverable losses as calculated by plaintiffs,” according to the filing.

“The Parties agreed to the Settlement after four years of litigation and arm’s-length negotiations by experienced counsel,” attorneys wrote in the motion. “Resolving the action at this juncture allows the parties to avoid continued and costly litigation.”

The plaintiffs in both cases are represented by attorneys with the law firm Capozzi Adler PC. Salesforce is represented in both cases by attorneys with the law firm Steptoe LLP.

Chesney still needs to approve the settlement.

Plaintiffs in the consolidated lawsuits had alleged that plan managers violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in part by failing to select lower-cost investments, did not consider cheaper options such as collective investment trusts, and charged relatively high recordkeeping fees for the size of the plan, among other allegations.

Salesforce had countered that it met its obligations under ERISA by following prudent processes for plan decisions and administration.

Miguel was initially dismissed, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals revived it in 2022, arguing that the plaintiffs had grounds for the lawsuit. After further litigation in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, it had been scheduled to go to trial this May, but the sides announced a settlement agreement was being worked out before it reached trial.

The Salesforce 401(k) Plan held $5.696 billion in retirement assets for 50,288 retirement plan participants, as of the latest Form 5500 filing.

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