Conflicts of Interest (Part 3): Plan Advisors and the Cornell Decision

Benefits and executive compensation partner Joshua Waldbeser and counsel Joan Neri co-authored an article for the Journal of Pension Benefits to discuss conflicts of interests that are prohibited transactions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code and the Supreme Court’s decision in Cunningham v. Cornell University.

The authors provide an overview of the prohibited transaction that occurs when service providers, as well as recordkeepers and third-party administrators, provide services to private sector qualified retirement plans and Individual Retirement Accounts. The authors also discuss the implications of the Cornell decision for future lawsuits under the prohibited transaction rules.