PLANADVISER - March/April 2020 - 6

Legislative and Judicial Actions
compliance news //
 Coronavirus Stimulus Includes
Retirement Relief
At the end of March, Congress passed
and President Donald J. Trump signed
an unprecedented economic stimulus
package in response to the global coronavirus
crisis. The relief legislation,
known as the CARES [Coronavirus
Aid, Relief and Economic Security] Act,
includes a variety of retirement-planfocused
provisions.
One
important
one permits limited early withdrawals
and larger loans from retirement
accounts-measures designed to
ease financial pressure
faced
by workers who have lost jobs,
who contract the virus or
who must stay home to care
for loved ones sick with
the virus. Another provision
detailed in the legislation
waives required
minimum
distributions
(RMDs) for 2020, enabling
participants to let their
balances regrow.
Participants will also
have targeted, penalty-free
access to their retirement
account if they are directly
affected by the virus.
 SEC Eases Certain
Requirements
The Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) has announced a broad
regulatory relief package aimed at
supporting fund managers and investment
advisers whose operations may
suffer due to the global economic
effects of the coronavirus. Advisers will
have greater flexibility for preparing
and filing Form ADV, also for how they
deliver amended brochures, brochure
supplements or summaries of material
service changes to their clients.
Additionally, the SEC passed rules
permitting investment advisers and
investment companies to conduct
virtual board meetings; further, it is
offering targeted relief on certain filing
obligations if the virus impedes the
meeting of standard requirements.
 CenturyLink Wins ERISA
Fiduciary Lawsuit Dismissal
The U.S. District Court for the District
of Colorado has ruled once again in the
case of Birse v. CenturyLink Inc., this time
dismissing the lawsuit outright for its
failure to state an actionable claim.
This ruling comes after a complex
procedural history in the case, which
performed immediately and consistently
due to its flawed and imprudent
design, and CIM failed to appropriately
monitor and adjust the fund because it
lacked any formal process or guidelines
for doing so. " Additionally, the plaintiffs
asserted that " CenturyLink, as the
plan sponsor and a co-fiduciary, in turn
failed in its duty to monitor CIM, " as
required by the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA).
The CenturyLink defendants, by
contrast, argued that " all of the
evidence demonstrates that CIM
employed a prudent process in
designing and monitoring the
fund. " Further, the defendants
asserted that CIM
" engaged in a robust monitoring
process and implemented
appropriate structural
changes to the fund
over the course of its life. "
After weighing both
arguments, District Court
Judge Christine Arguello
concluded that the evidence
in the record " shows
monitored the fund. "
 SunTrust ERISA Litigation
saw multiple versions of the complaint
filed and various recommendations
and orders filed by the court.
Case documents show that CenturyLink
appointed CenturyLink Investment
Management Co. (CIM) as an
investment fiduciary for its 401(k) plan.
One of the investment options offered
by CIM was the Active Large Cap U.S.
Stock Fund, which was also included in
the plan's 12 target-date funds (TDFs).
The plaintiffs argue that the fund
underperformed its benchmark nearly
every quarter over the fund's life and
that a prudent retirement plan fiduciary
would have cut the fund as an
investment option for participants.
In arguing their case, the plaintiffs
suggested that the fund " underDraws
to a Close
The parties in the long-running
Employee Retirement Income Security
Act (ERISA) lawsuit known as Fuller v.
SunTrust Banks have filed a proposed
settlement
agreement
in
federal
court.
The settlement comes four months
after the parties announced they
would enter a mediation process to
try to resolve the complex litigation,
and roughly five months after the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District
of Georgia, Atlanta Division,
issued a
lengthy order in the case. The underlying
lawsuit-which boasts a procedural
history dating back to 2008-
alleges that SunTrust Bank's 401(k)
plan engaged in corporate self-dealing
at the expense of plan participants.
that
CIM's design of the fund was
prudent and that CIM diligently
6 | planadviser.com March-April 2020
http://www.planadviser.com
PLANADVISER - March/April 2020

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