Employment Benefits Law

Severance and Texas unemployment benefits: Can I take both?

Texas employees often question the relationship between severance pay and unemployment benefits through the Texas Workforce Commission. Workers often think if they accept severance pay they are automatically ineligible for unemployment benefits in Texas. That is incorrect. The terms of the severance agreement determine whether you can receive severance and unemployment pay in Texas. Basic

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Dallas Police and Firefighters Pension Funding Crisis

Dallas residents may have discovered over the past several months a financial crisis in their city related to the Dallas Police and Firefighters Pension. Few people really understand pension funding and how pension funding created this billion dollar shortfall for the city. The local news media in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas has done a fairly good

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Just been fired? Apply for unemployment benefits in Texas

If you are fired (aka discharged, terminated) from your job then one of your first acts in almost all cases should be to apply for unemployment benefits. Applying for unemployment benefits through the Texas Workforce Commission is free so even if denied benefits you have only lost the time applying. This is true even if

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College Retirement Plans under Fire for Excessive Investment Fees

The past ten to fifteen years has given rise to a set of lawsuits against 401k plan administrators over excessive plan fees and revenue sharing agreements between plan administrators and recordkeepers. We are probably approaching the end of this wave of excessive fee litigation against for-profit employers for 401k plans. A new wave of excessive retirement

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Why is there a 10% early withdrawal penalty to cash out a 401k?

Before becoming an employment attorney I worked for one of the largest (maybe the largest) provider of 401k services. We provided various investment, customer service and recordkeeping services for 401k plans. Most people who call for information about their 401k plans will end up talking to my former employer or one of their competitors. Most

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Vanguard funds targeted in new 401k excessive fee litigation

401k excessive fee litigation has been an active area of ERISA litigation for over a decade with 401k participants arguing the plan administrator–along with various other plan fiduciaries–breached the duty to prudently manage the investment options of the plan. Most of these cases argue the plan administrator failed to select investments with reasonable fees, particularly

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Does my employer have to collect interest on a pension overpayment?

You receive an envelope from your pension plan. Ā As usual you think it’s either this month’s check or some notice you’ll scan and toss in the trash. You open it and it isn’t a check from your Dallas–Fort Worth employer. It is a notice. Ā But not the kind of boilerplate legal notice that you normally

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Employers struggling to win pension overpayment cases against retirees

The late 2000s and early 2010s saw a growth in litigation over 401k fees by employee-side ERISA attorneys. TheseĀ often attacked large employers and major plan recordkeepers who profit from the kickback scheme known as revenue sharing. We’re still not done with that wave of litigation but we’re seeing a similar rise in litigation for pension

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Can I take my QDRO money early after my Texas divorce?

Often divorces divide retirement plansĀ like a 401k or defined benefit pension. A judge signs a QDRO (qualified domestic relations order) ordering the retirement plan administrator to divide the benefit. The ability to take funds from the plan under the QDRO depends upon the terms of the QDRO and plan rules. Some plans allow the alternate

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Unanimous SCOTUS decision in Tibble holds ERISA fiduciaries must continuously monitor 401k investment choices

A flurry of 401k litigation arose in the 2000s over the manner in which 401k plan sponsors select the investment choices and how those choices relate to the fees charged to the plan for various plan services and investments. 401k plan sponsors have fiduciary obligations to operate the plan prudently. 401k litigation asserts breaches of these

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Texas law on employer’s vacation policy

Here in Texas our labor and employment laws generally cut in favor of employers over employees. Texas law surrounding an employer’s vacation policy is no exception. Employees are often surprised by employer restrictions on vacation use and issues involving whether unused vacation must be paid out when an employee leaves. Due to differences among state

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New case illustrates risk of ESOP mismanagement

I amĀ a skeptic of Employee Stock Ownership PlansĀ because they create unique financial risks to employees. The ESOP industry, unsurprisingly, takes issue with my position; but it’s hard to take their position seriously in light of cases like today’s appellate decision from the Seventh Circuit. Certainly I would agree that some ESOP plans are well-managed and

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Dissecting fact and fiction from a recent report on retirement savings

As somebody who spent a decade working in employee benefits and now practices employee benefits law, I have an understanding of the employee benefits industry. When I saw WFAA in Dallas covering a report about retirement savings I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to fact-check. Predictably, the piece mixes a little truth with a lot of

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Earning the Q in your QDRO

In a Texas divorce, one of the major assets to address in a property division include retirement accounts, such as a 401k or defined benefit pension plan. Retirement assets within a private employer’s retirement plan are typically governed by ERISA. ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, establishes particular processes for dividing assets

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It’s your pension. Who is your financial adviser helping?

This week I fielded a question from a soon-to-be-retiree regarding her pension that I thought was worth sharing. Her employer offers a defined benefit pension plan, which she is fortunate enough to receive. Her employer’s pension plan offers the opportunity to receive benefits in the form of a single lump sum payment or various annuity

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Age Discrimination and Early Retirement Incentives

Employers who want to thin the herd of highly paid, older employees often offer early retirement incentive packages that trade off an increased pension benefit or severance package in exchange for an employee agreeing to voluntarily retire early. Early retirement is typically offered to a large number of employees before the company decides to engage

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7 Ways You Are Mishandling Retirement Plans in Your Texas divorce

, next to perhaps the home. Regardless of the value in these retirement plans, 401k plans and pensionĀ plans, many couples mishandle these accounts in divorces. The result can be a substantial financial loss for one spouse, sometimes even for both. Today’s post will detail some of the most common ways people in Texas divorces mishandle

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Pension overpayments / pension recovery: Dallas pension lawyers

You worked for decades at an employer, retired and began receiving your defined benefit pension from your employer. You have planned your finances around your pension payments, social security and other sources of retirement savings. Then a letter shows up from the pension administrator. No, it isn’t your monthly check. It isn’t a spare check,

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