News Archive

"The 2026 Roth catch-up rules require coordinated action across plan documents, payroll systems, and recordkeeping platforms. Employers should confirm that payroll can identify HPPs based on prior-year FICA wages, ensure timely Roth elections, and implement appropriate correction procedures. Early planning and clear participant communication will be essential to minimizing operational risk and maintaining compliance."  MORE >>

73 pages. Dec. 22, 2025. "What's New ... [1] Beginning in 2025, IRA references in these instructions follow a revised naming convention.... [2] Form 8915-F includes a new line 5a. This line directs taxpayers to add the amounts from column (a) of lines 2, 3, and 4, and enter on line 5a the portion of that sum not attributable to qualified disaster distributions."  MORE >>

36 pages; Dec. 23, 2025. "What's New: [1] Cents-per-mile rule.... [2] Qualified parking exclusion and commuter transportation benefit.... [3] Contribution limit on a health flexible spending arrangement (FSA).... [4] Moving expense reimbursement.... [5] Bicycle commuting reimbursements.... [6] Artificial intelligence (AI) literacy and AI development programs.... [7] Dependent care assistance exclusion from wages.... [8] Employer payments of student loans."  MORE >>

"The IRS explained that the extension is in response to requests from states administering PFML programs that need additional time to update systems, budgets, and reporting processes to align with the federal tax treatment clarified in Revenue Ruling 2025-4. Importantly, [Notice 2026-6] does not extend transition relief related to voluntary employer 'pick-up' contributions, which remain subject to federal employment tax and reporting requirements."  MORE >>

"The [DOL] has asked for additional time to file an amicus brief in a forfeiture reallocation suit involving Honeywell International. It's a suit that the fiduciary defendants have already prevailed in their motion to dismiss -- twice -- most recently last July, and that time with prejudice.' [Barragan v. Honeywell Int"l, Inc., No. 24-4529 (D.N.J. Aug. 18, 2025; on appeal to 3d Cir. No. 25-2509)]  MORE >>

"11th Circ. hints at ERISA exhaustion rule repeal ... 2nd Circ. backs toss of NY tTeamsters' pension suit ... DOL drops 5th Circ. fiduciary rule appeals ... Wells Fargo escapes 401(k) forfeiture suit."  MORE >>

"This Fact Sheet updates frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Premium Tax Credit. The revisions and additions are as follows: [1] Updates to questions related to the limitations on repayment of excess advance payment of the premium tax credit due to the removal of the limitations for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2025. [2] Updates throughout for minor style clarifications and topic/question renumbering. [3] Deletion of questions Q 32 and Qs 35-49 about certain Premium Tax Credit rules that do not apply after tax years 2020 and 2021."  MORE >>

"A recordkeeper switch is not simply a checkbox for 'vendor change'. It is one of the highest-risk operational events in a plan lifecycle. Blackout periods must be communicated clearly, participant funds must be accurately transferred, and plan fiduciaries must vigilantly follow every step of the process. If you hand off everything to your provider, and then treat the transition like a lunch meeting that maybe one of your folks attended, you are creating systemic risk."  MORE >>

"Although the Court's analysis relied on statutes specifically applicable to municipal pension systems and the City's charter, the statutory frameworks governing other local systems -- including for counties and cities participating in CalPERS -- contain materially similar requirements supporting the broader applicability of the Court's reasoning." [City of San José v. Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assoc., No. S285426 (Calif. Dec. 18, 2025)]  MORE >>

"This extension provides continued penalty relief for noncompliance with federal tax withholding and reporting requirements for state-paid medical leave benefits attributable to employer contributions through the end of 2026. Employers must still treat 'pick-up' contributions as wages for federal employment tax purposes and report them on Form W-2 for 2026."  MORE >>

"Plan fiduciaries notched another victory in a much-watched, bellwether case alleging breaches of fiduciary duty for failures to manage the drug costs of employer-sponsored health plans." [Lewandowski v. Johnson & Johnson, No. 24-0671 (D.N.J. Nov. 26, 2025)]   MORE >>

"[1] Last chance to correct certain Section 409A document failures discovered in 2025.... [2] Nonqualified deferred compensation deferral elections should be made on or before December 31, 2025.... [3] Take certain action to address impact of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Section 162(m) of the Code.... [4] Review whether equity-based compensation plans have sufficient shares remaining for 2026 awards.... [5] Review director pay practices and consider separate annual limits on director equity awards.... [6] Review ISS 2026 benchmark policy voting policies for executive compensation matters:.... [7] Section 6039 of the Code information statements due by February 2, 2026.... [8] Continue to consider clawback disclosure issues.... [9] Consider electronic filings for future Section 83(b) elections."  MORE >>

"A recent [District Court decision] is a helpful reminder that insurers do not get to 'ERISA-wash' a claim simply because coverage was offered to employees through an employer channel. When the employer stays neutral, employees pay the full premium, and the insurer sells what is functionally an individually owned policy governed by state law, ERISA may never come into play -- no matter how aggressively the insurer invokes it after a claim dispute arises." [Koo v. Unum Grp., No. 25-5797 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 16, 2025)]  MORE >>

"A number of national employers (and consultants) found some coal in their Christmas stocking yesterday -- courtesy of Schlichter Bogard LLC. While it is not the healthcare fiduciary litigation many have been expecting, it does deal with benefits, and charges of a breach of fiduciary duty in what were allegedly excessive premiums in accident, critical illness, cancer, and hospital indemnity insurance -- voluntary benefits that are not subsidized by employers."  MORE >>

"[I]ndividuals and businesses in the State of Washington affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that began on Dec. 9, 2025 ... now have until May 1, 2026, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.... [I]ndividuals and households that reside or have a business in Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Samish, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Whatcom, and Yakima counties qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>

"If EOI is required, coverage does not exist until it is approved. However, courts often are unforgiving to employers when an EOI failure surfaces after death or disability, thus opening risk to breach of fiduciary duty claims or equitable relief. Plan administrators that proactively manage EOI and communicate clearly can avoid costly disputes when it matters most."  MORE >>

"The addition of new, effective weight-loss drugs could help hold down spending on the drugs, by increasing the level of competition and putting pressure on the manufacturers and distributors to hold down prices."  MORE >>

"The [PBGC] has updated the regulation governing allocation of assets in single-employer plans in 2026; it also has updated the mortality assumption for use with the missing participants program for determination dates in 2026.... The rule ... [substitutes] a new table for determining expected retirement ages for participants in pension plans undergoing distress or involuntary termination with valuation dates falling in 2026."  MORE >>

"One of the most important pieces of information that your TPA will request is retirement plan year wages ... Providing correct contribution totals is also essential ... Personal and employment data ... are necessary for determining eligibility and plan participation dates.... Identifying who the highly compensated employees are for each plan year is essential for accurate ADP test results."  MORE >>

"[IRS] announced that it extended the grace period for states and employers to report tax information about benefits paid through a state's paid family and medical leave program. For 2026, states and employers will not have to comply with tax and income reporting obligations related to those benefits.... Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., have enacted state-run paid family and medical leave programs."  MORE >>

"[As] the deadline for Roth treatment of catch-up contributions nears ... organizations are focused on plan changes and processes for implementation. Seventy percent of plan sponsors are focused on that and the Jan 1, 2026, good faith implementation deadline. Sixty percent of respondents stated their priority next year is participant education, while nearly 30% are focused on other SECURE Act provisions[.]"  MORE >>

"Through 2025, the retirement industry continued to lay the groundwork for in-plan retirement income ... In 2026 ... the focus will shift from creation to broader adoption by plan sponsors. Consultants and advisors will implement standardized fiduciary evaluation frameworks, making it easier for plan sponsor committees to assess, compare, and adopt retirement income options."  MORE >>

"Effective for the 2025 plan year, OBBBA reinstated and made permanent COVID-19-era telehealth relief allowing HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) to cover telehealth and other remote care services before the statutory minimum deductible is satisfied. Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, OBBBA also allows individuals enrolled in certain direct primary care service arrangements to remain eligible to make or receive HSA contributions and treats certain bronze and catastrophic plans as HDHPs. This article summarizes provisions of Notice 2026-5 most relevant to employers."  MORE >>

"The two models -- GLOBE for Medicare Part B and GUARD for Medicare Part D -- will factor in international prices into the inflationary rebates drug manufacturers must pay to the program for certain single-source drugs and sole-source biologics that are separately payable under Medicare Parts B and D, if CMS finalizes the rule."  MORE >>

"For plan sponsors and advisors, now is the time to get creative. Help employees manage competing priorities through flexible plans, clear communication, and personalized tools. That’s the best way to keep them on track and make retirement feel possible."  MORE >>