News Archive

Rev. Dec. 2025; 85 pages. "This publication gives you the information you need to determine the tax treatment of your pension and annuity income under the General Rule.... The General Rule is one of the two methods used to figure the tax-free part of each annuity payment based on the ratio of your investment in the contract to the total expected return."  MORE >>

"Through the website, patients will be able to access large discounts on many of the most popular and highest-priced medicines in the country, paying prices in line with the lowest paid by other developed nations (known as the most-favored-nation, or MFN, price)."  MORE >>

"[I]ndividuals and businesses in the State of Montana affected by severe storms and flooding that began on Dec. 10, 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 the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Lincoln, and Sanders counties qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>

"The premium adjustment percentage for the 2027 benefit year is 1.8916224814 ($8,919/$4,715), which represents an increase in PHI premiums of approximately 89.2 percent over the period from 2013 to 2026....

'[T]he 2027 maximum annual limitation on cost sharing is $12,000 for self-only coverage and $24,000 for other than self-only coverage. This represents an approximately 13.2 percent increase from the 2026 parameters of $10,600 for self-only coverage and $21,200 for other than self-only coverage....

'[T]he 2027 required contribution percentage under section 5000A of the Code [is] ... 8.50 percent ... an increase of approximately 0.45 percentage points from the 2026 value."  MORE >>

"Covered service providers would be required to provide initial disclosures to the plan fiduciary reasonably in advance of entering into, renewing, or extending a contract or arrangement. The initial disclosures would include a description of the pharmacy benefit management services as well as information on the direct compensation from the self-insured group health plan and compensation reasonably expected to be received from other arrangements ... The proposed rule would also require covered service providers to provide semiannual disclosures of the same compensation categories based on amounts actually received."  MORE >>

212 pages. "The Department is proposing a regulation that would require providers of pharmacy benefit management services and affiliated providers of brokerage and consulting services to disclose information about their compensation to fiduciaries of self- insured group health plans subject to [ERISA].... These disclosure requirements would apply for purposes of ERISA's statutory prohibited transaction exemption for services arrangements. This proposal implements section 12 of President Trump's Executive Order 14273, Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First ...

"The Department's proposed regulation is intended to provide much needed transparency into contracts and arrangements with PBMs and affiliated brokers and consultants so that the responsible plan fiduciaries of ERISA-covered self-insured group health plans can better fulfill their statutorily mandated role to determine that the service contracts or arrangements are reasonable. Under the Department's proposed regulation, these service providers would be required to provide robust disclosures to responsible plan fiduciaries of self-insured group health plans regarding their compensation for such services, including the advance disclosure of compensation they reasonably expect to receive. The proposed regulation also includes audit provisions designed to ensure that the responsible plan fiduciaries of self-insured group health plans can verify the accuracy of the disclosures. The responsible plan fiduciaries would be able to use the disclosures in their process of selecting a provider of pharmacy benefit management services, engaging an affiliated broker or consultant, monitoring these service providers' operations and compliance with contractual obligations, and also in analyzing the drivers of prescription drug costs."  MORE >>

24 pages. "What's New:  [1]  Changes to 'coverage month' definition for PTC/APTC ... [2] Reporting entities no longer required to send minimum essential coverage (MEC) forms automatically."  MORE >>

"Comments are invited on: [1] Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; [2] the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the collection of information; [3] ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; [4] ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and [5] estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.... There is no change to the previously approved information collection."  MORE >>

"[CMS] announced the selection of 15 high-cost prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part D and, for the first time, drugs payable under Medicare Part B, for the third cycle of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. CMS also selected one previously negotiated drug for the program's first renegotiations. Negotiations with participating drug companies will occur in 2026 and any negotiated and renegotiated prices will become effective January 1, 2028."  MORE >>

"The Trump Administration is launching TrumpRx, a platform to connect patients seeking lower cost prescription drugs with direct-to-consumer (DTC) programs offered by manufacturers and other private companies to cash-paying patients. These DTC programs create opportunities for cash-paying patients to obtain prescription drugs at lower prices than may be available through other avenues. This Special Advisory Bulletin explains when a pharmaceutical manufacturer's offer and sale of lower cost prescription drugs to Federal health care program enrollees through a DTC program is low risk under the Federal anti-kickback statute."  MORE >>

"This notice provides guidance relating to amendments under section 501 of ... the SECURE 2.0 Act ... for an individual retirement arrangement (IRAs) under section 408(a), (b), or (h) of the Internal Revenue Code, an employer's SEP arrangement under section 408(k), and an employer's SIMPLE IRA plan under section 408(p). This notice provides that the Department of the Treasury and the [IRS] have extended the deadline to make certain amendments for IRAs, SEP arrangements, and SIMPLE IRA plans to December 31, 2027."  MORE >>

71 pages; Jan. 21, 2026. "Reminders: [1] Excise tax relief for certain 2024 required minimum distributions (RMDs).... [2] Income on corrective distributions of excess contributions.... [3] Modification of required distribution rules for designated beneficiaries.... [4] Simplified employee pension (SEP) and SIMPLE plans.... [5] Deemed IRAs.... [6] Statement of required minimum distribution (RMD).... [7] IRA interest.... [8] Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT)."  MORE >>

29 pages; updated Jan. 23, 2026. "The 2025 benefit year risk adjustment models use the Version 08 (V08) HHS-hierarchical condition category (HCC) classification, first implemented in the 2025 benefit year, and include interaction variables based on HCC count factors, first implemented in the 2023 benefit year.... In addition to classification changes, the 2025 benefit year risk adjustment models are recalibrated using blended coefficients from the 2019, 2020, and 2021 enrollee-level External Data Gathering Environment (EDGE) data. T" [Also available: Technical Details (XLSX) and 2025 Benefit Year Risk Adjustment: SAS Version of HHS-Developed Risk Adjustment Model Algorithm Software (ZIP)]   MORE >>

The computation of the 4044 expense loads was changed by PBGC’s final rule ... issued August 15, 2025. The 4044 expense is now computed as specified dollar amounts per participant for the first 100 participants and per additional participant. These dollar amounts will change annually. PBGC has determined the 4044 expense load factors applicable for valuation dates after 1/30/2026 but before 1/31/2027. A new webpage for ERISA 4044 expense load has been created and is now available.  MORE >>

"This final rule ... prescribe[s] the spreads component of the interest assumption under the asset allocation regulation for plans with valuation dates of January 31, 2026 - April 29, 2026. These interest assumptions are used for valuing benefits under terminating single-employer plans and for other purposes."  MORE >>

46 pages; Nov 6, 2025; pub. Jan. 16, 2026. "Reminders: [1] Distributions to victims of domestic abuse.... [2] Distributions for emergency personal expenses.... [3] Transfers and rollovers of assets and the substantially equal payment method.... [4] The direct payment requirement for certain distributions for payment of health or long-term care insurance repealed."  MORE >>

62 pages; Jan. 15, 2026. "What's New for 2025: [1] IRA contribution limit for 2025.... [2] Trump account and new Form 4547.... [3] Modified AGI limit for traditional IRA contributions.... [4] Modified AGI limit for Roth IRA contributions.... What's New for 2026: [1] IRA contribution limit increased for 2026.... [2] Modified AGI limit for traditional IRA contributions increased.... [3] Modified AGI limit for Roth IRA contributions increased. "  MORE >>

Fillable PDF, rev. Oct. 30 2025; pub. Jan. 15, 2026.  MORE >>

"This notice provides two safe harbor explanations that plan administrators may use ... to provide certain information to recipients of eligible rollover distributions. One safe harbor explanation is for distributions that are not from a designated Roth account, and the other safe harbor explanation is for distributions from a designated Roth account. These safe harbor explanations modify the two safe harbor explanations provided in Notice 2020-62 ... [to] take into consideration certain legislative changes made by [SECURE 2.0] and implement a recommendation from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)."  MORE >>

"[FRTIB] is amending a regulation to permit participants in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) to convert amounts in their traditional TSP balances to their Roth TSP balances, subject to applicable tax consequences.... A participant or beneficiary participant may request up to a maximum of 26 Roth in-plan conversions per calendar year. To be eligible for a Roth in-plan conversion, the participant or beneficiary participant must have a vested account balance of at least $500 at the time of the request. The total amount of a conversion request must be at least $500."  MORE >>

"The changes to the national enforcement projects ... highlight where EBSA will focus its enforcement resources to increase broad-based employee benefit plan compliance, address abusive practices and bad actors, and deliver results that increase security for participants and beneficiaries.... investigators will prioritize cases related to: [1] Cybersecurity; [2] Barriers to mental health and substance use disorder benefits; [3] Protecting benefit distributions; [4] Retirement asset management; [5] Surprise billing; [6] Criminal abuse of contributory benefit plans. EBSA will continue its long-standing commitment to identifying abusive Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements [MEWAs] ... EBSA removed [ESOPs] from the national enforcement project list and will reduce its focus on missing participants following the establishment of the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database."  MORE >>

Rev. Dec. 2025. "Form 5310-A is used by employers to give notice of: [1] A plan merger or consolidation that is the combining of two or more plans into a single plan. [2] A plan spinoff that is the splitting of a single plan into two or more spinoff plans. [3] A plan transfer of plan assets or liabilities to another plan that is the splitting off of a portion of the assets or liabilities of the transferor plan and the concurrent acquisition or assumption of these split-off assets or liabilities by the transferee plan. [4] Qualified separate lines of business (QSLOBs).... An IRS determination letter will not be issued when a Form 5310-A is filed."  MORE >>

Dec. 30, 2025. "Use Form 8955-SSA to report information relating to each participant who separated from service covered by the plan and is entitled to a deferred vested benefit under the plan but is not paid this retirement benefit[.]"  MORE >>

Rev. Dec. 2025. For excise taxes under sections 4965, 4971, 4972, 4973(a)(3), 4975, 4976, 4977, 4978, 4979, 4979A, 4980, and 4980F of the Internal Revenue Code.   MORE >>

"This notice provides the percentage increase for calculating the qualifying payment amounts (QPAs) for items and services furnished during 2026 for purposes of ... the Internal Revenue Code ... [ERISA], and ... the Public Health Service Act.... The QPA serves as the basis for calculating patient cost sharing for items or services subject to the surprise billing provisions of the No Surprises Act in certain circumstances. The QPA is also one of the factors considered by a certified independent dispute resolution (IDR) entity to determine which of two offers submitted by parties to a payment dispute in the Federal IDR process best represents the value of a qualified IDR item or service as the out-of-network rate." [BenefitsLink note:  This Notice was issued shortly after the government shutdown ended in Nov. 2025, and was not publicized by IRS.  Thanks to readers at Evernorth for bringing it to our attention.]  MORE >>