2025 ERISA Facts

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is known as one of the most complicated federal laws, but it is one of the most important laws regarding employee benefits. 2025 ERISA Facts provides simple explanations for over 800 of the most common ERISA-related questions. Anyone involved in the administration of ERISA-based retirement plans should have this book. It's the perfect resource for a wide range of employee benefits professionals, including ERISA attorneys, TPAs, CPAs, Employee benefits consultants or specialists, Corporate counsel, and IFEBP members.

Organized in a convenient question & answer format to help you find the information you need, 2025 ERISA Facts features:

• Over 800 easy-to-read Q&As that comprehensively cover all aspects of ERISA requirements and practices
• Practical advice for any professional who is required to comply with ERISA rules, including in-house HR professionals and third-party advisers
• Detailed explanation of who is an ERISA fiduciary and what requirements fiduciaries must meet
• Breakdown of potential sources of fiduciary liability
• Class and Statutory exemptions explained
• Investment guidelines for ERISA-compliant plans

New in the 2025 Edition:

• The latest on the Department of Labor's new fiduciary investment advice rule that was set to go into effect on September 23 of 2024 and the Fifth Circuit's stay of application of the rule based on the Supreme Court's Loper decision striking down the Chevron deference standard
• Updates on the cybersecurity program best practices, including the DOL Enforcement Manual requirement that any plan audit/investigation must review and analyze all documents constituting or reflecting the Plan's cybersecurity program
• A new section with additional Department of Labor insights and guidance on cybersecurity from the 2024 IRS TE/GE Counsel National Annual Conference
• A new section on the Department of Labor proposal for the voluntary reporting for retirement savings lost and found database required by SECURE Act 2.0
• A new section on the HHS's final rule to modify the HIPAA privacy rule to support reproductive health care privacy in response to Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
• A new section on the HHS's final rule modifying the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records regulations
• A discussion of the HHS's update of its interactive Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool, designed to help health care providers conduct a security risk assessment as required by the HIPAA Security Rule
• A new section on the new final rules amending certain provisions of the existing Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, including new regulations setting forth content requirements and timeframes for responding to requests for non-quantitative treatment limitation
• Update on the proposed regulations changing the surprise medical billing rules regarding the fees associated with the IDR process, responding to the Fifth Circuit decision in Texas Med. Ass'n v. HHS
• Discussion of the Northern District of Illinois's ruling for the employer in a COBRA Notice lawsuit alleging wrongful termination and retaliation where a former employee claimed that his employer had failed to notify him of his COBRA rights upon termination
• Analysis of the Eleventh Circuit's decision in Pizarro v. Home Depot, where participants allege that Home Depot, as plan sponsor and fiduciary, violated its fiduciary duties by allowing the plan to pay excessive asset administration fees coupled with a failure to monitor poor investment performance

Key Topics covered:

• Fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA
• ERISA-regulated plan administration issues
• Health insurance issues (HIPAA, COBRA, etc.)
• Responsibilities related to plan investments and fiduciary liability
• Compliance and disclosure rules
• Expanded coverage of Prohibited Transactions and Exemptions
• Detailed explanations of voluntary compliance programs
• Real-world advice on enforcement trends