Please note that this is a TUESDAY meeting!

Understanding Retirement Plan Investigations And Your Fiduciary Duties

ERISA is one of the most cumbersome and complex laws employers must navigate.  The risk of being selected by the DOL for an investigation has never been higher.  With an increased enforcement emphasis, fee disclosure regulations and the re-definition of fiduciary on the horizon, the DOL's activity is presenting plans with difficult new compliance obligations.  Avoiding a DOL investigation is the ultimate goal, but if selected, plan sponsors must be prepared in order to achieve the best outcome.  Learning objectives of this workshop will include:

• Understand how the DOL is organized and operates
• Learn about the authority of the DOL under ERISA
• Recognize how and why a benefit plan becomes selected for an investigation including red flags, targeted issues, and the DOL's goals
• Learn about the process of the investigation, what the DOL is looking for, what are your obligations to provide information, and what you can expect to occur from beginning to end
• Learn about your fiduciary obligations, duties, and governance best practices
• Get tips and best practices to make the process run as smoothly as possible 

Our speaker will be Samuel A. Henson, J.D., Vice President-Senior ERISA Counsel for Lockton Retirement Services.  He is a subject matter expert on ERISA compliance, DOL/IRS activities, and the legislative landscape.  Prior to joining Lockton, Sam spent almost 10 years with the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, where as a Senior Investigator, he conducted more than 150 complex civil and criminal investigations of employee benefits plans, service providers, and fiduciaries.  Sam also supervised enforcement efforts for benefit plans funded by prevailing wage laws under the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act.  He is a member of the American Benefits Council, DCIIA, ASPPA, ISCEBS, and has been a nationally featured speaker and writer on numerous fiduciary topics.  Sam earned his Juris Doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and holds CEBS, RPA, GBA, APM designations.  He is admitted to practice in Missouri and the U.S. District Court - Western District of Missouri.

Doors open at 7:30 a.m. for check-in, breakfast and networking.  Our program will begin at 8:00 a.m. and this program will end at approximately 9:30 a.m.  The registration fee includes a full breakfast buffet and hosted parking in the hotel's self-parking lot.

The reservation deadline for this event is Wednesday, January 15, 2014.    

The statements and materials presented at WP&BC Orange County Chapter events are solely the opinions of the speakers and do not represent the opinions or positions of WP&BC Orange County Chapter. In addition, WP&BC Orange County Chapter assumes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the statements and materials presented by speakers at WP&BC Orange County Chapter events.