Exercising Shareholder Rights in Pension Plans
Guidance and Regulations on Proxy Voting
The fiduciary standards in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) require that individuals who make decisions for private sector pension plans (referred to as fiduciaries) adhere to specified standards of conduct. The standards include an obligation to act prudently and solely for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and for defraying reasonable expenses. Among other responsibilities, pension plan fiduciaries must manage plan assets that involve shares of corporate stock and, thus, may be required to make and monitor decisions about voting proxies and exercising shareholder rights. Department of Labor (DOL) guidance over the…
