BarbriSFCourseDetails
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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    ERISA

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, April 8, 2025

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$347.00

This CLE course will provide employee benefits counsel, plan sponsors, and administrators guidance on the DOL's recent changes to the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) for retirement plans and identifying critical retirement plan issues and correction methods in light of these recent updates. The panel will discuss self-correction rules and procedures under the updated VFCP and the primary focus areas of IRS and DOL examinations and audits. The panel will address fiduciary liability and risks stemming from excessive payments to retirement plans, delinquent 401(k) loans, spousal/survivor rights under ERISA, and other challenges in light of the updated VFCP.

Faculty

Bokert Mark
Shareholder
Davis+Gilbert LLP

Mr. Bokert is co-chair of the firm's Benefits + Compensation Practice Group. His practice encompasses nearly all aspects of executive compensation and employee benefits, including matters related to equity plans, deferred compensation plans, phantom equity plans, qualified retirement plans and welfare plans. He has extensive experience in Section 409A and deferred compensation arrangements. He has extensive experience in counseling plan committees on their fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA.

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August Hillary
Shareholder
Mayer Brown LLP

Ms. August helps sponsors of employee benefit plans to meet complex statutory requirements in addition to Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor regulations. In her compliance practice, she focuses on the design, implementation, communication, administration, and amendment of tax-qualified retirement plans, executive compensation arrangements, and health and welfare plans and policies. Clients also rely on Ms. August to guide them through government audits and investigations relating to their benefit plans. She draws on her past experience as an ERISA litigator to advise clients on fiduciary matters. Ms. August regularly prepares governance documents for plan fiduciary committees, provides fiduciary advice, and presents at fiduciary committee meetings. Her experience defending plan sponsors, fiduciaries and service providers against complex class action litigation arising under ERISA has also made Ms. August a go-to lawyer for clients as they move through ERISA’s complex pre-litigation claims and appeals process. 

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Description

On Jan. 15, 2025, DOL published an updated VFCP along with amendments to the prohibited transaction exemption. These changes will allow employers to self-correct certain errors without submitting an application to the Employee Benefits Security Administration. Counsel, plan sponsors, and administrators must understand the requirements under the updated VFCP and correction methods in light of the updates.

The IRS and DOL continue their heightened scrutiny of retirement plans. Plan audits typically reveal noncompliance issues that can result in substantial penalties for employers. Such compliance risks stem from the failure to recognize plan document defects, a specific area of focus during an IRS audit of a retirement plan. The recent updates to the VFCP will permit employers additional self-correcting avenues for operational failures.

Under the new VFCP, administrative and procedural requirements are simplified. The new VFCP provides clarity on transactions eligible for correction, expands coverage of transactions eligible to be corrected under the program, and implements self-correction components for certain types of transactions. Those who elect to use these self-correction components will not receive a no-action letter and will trigger a civil investigation under Title I of ERISA or the assessment civil penalties under Section 502(l) or 502(i) of ERISA. Therefore, counsel must have a complete understanding of the requirements under the new VFCP.

Listen as our panel of experts discusses the new self-correction rules and procedures under the updated VFCP, fiduciary liability and risks, and other challenges in light of the updated VFCP.

Outline

  1. IRS and DOL key areas of focus
  2. New self-correction rules under the VFCP
  3. Recognizing plan document defects
  4. Remedying compliance issues to avoid liability and penalties
  5. IRS self-correction rules; effective administrative procedures and corrective actions

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • New IRS self-correction rules
  • Identifying current areas of IRS and DOL focus
  • Recognizing plan document defects
  • Addressing and correcting areas of noncompliance
  • Minimizing audit risks