Lois Baker

Beginning in calendar year 2026, HHS guidance provided a new premium growth measure that captures increases in individual market premiums in addition to increases in employer-sponsored insurance premiums for purposes of calculating the premium adjustment percentage for the 2026 benefit year and beyond. For plan years beginning in calendar year 2027, the Required Contribution Percentage for purposes of § 36B(c)(2)(C)(i)(II) and § 1.36B-2(c)(3)(v)(C) is 10.22%. Full text of IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26 is here.

The proposed rule would establish a safe harbor allowing approximately 2.8 million group health plans covered by ERISA to provide required documents digitally. Group health plans currently print and mail up to 11 billion sheets of paper each year. The department estimates the proposal could save group health plans $3.9 billion over 10 years while giving participants and beneficiaries easier, more reliable access to their health plan information. Any comments?

While we appreciate the industry's interest in finding alternative news sources, since announcing the end of the newsletters we've been careful not to recommend or endorse any particular publication. Consistent with that approach, the BenefitsLink message boards are not an appropriate forum for discussing or comparing alternative news sources or replacement newsletters. There are a number of broader professional forums where that discussion can take place.

While we appreciate the industry's interest in finding alternative news sources, since announcing the end of the newsletters we've been careful not to recommend or endorse any particular publication. Consistent with that approach, the BenefitsLink message boards are not an appropriate forum for discussing or comparing alternative news sources or replacement newsletters. There are a number of broader professional forums where that discussion can take place.

... and even with that, it's a constant, ongoing battle to keep it clean and deliverable.

Sure (although those do help keep the lights on around here ...). Two methods, depending on how you use your feed: Method 1: Create a custom Activity Stream (cleanest) Go to Activity > My Activity Streams > Create New Stream. Under Content Types, select what you want (usually Topics/Posts). Scroll to Forums and uncheck the forum(s) you want to hide. Save the stream. Click the star to make it your default stream. This becomes your personal feed; the excluded forum will never appear. Method 2: Clone the default “Unread Content” stream Open Activity > Unread Content. Click Show Filters. Under Forums, uncheck the forum to hide. Click Save as New Stream. Name it (e.g., “Unread – No Jobs”). Star it as default.

Notice 2025-67 just released, with the official retirement plan limits for 2026.

Here's the "Form 5330 Corner" page on the IRS website -- does anything here help? https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/form-5330-corner

Mercer's estimates just published this morning: https://www.mercer.com/insights/law-and-policy/mercer-projects-2026-retirement-plan-limits/

Same here -- the forms themselves seem to still be available, but the search functions aren't working. A couple of places to try: https://www.irs.gov/downloads/irs-prior (not searchable, but you can sort by column headings) Search the BenefitsLink news page Or let me know what you're trying to find; I'll be happy to do some digging.

For context, the 2018 limits were announced by IRS on or about November 15.

Leaving aside the IRS for a moment ... another consideration might be what the Ninth Circuit recently opined about SPD provisions: "Assuming that Platt only received the 2022 email containing the new SPD, this email did not provide sufficient notice of the arbitration provision because the provision was buried on page 153 of the 170-page SPD. It is unreasonable to expect that Platt would notice a new arbitration provision hidden in a lengthy document." [Platt v. Sodexo, S.A., No. 23-55737 (9th Cir. Aug. 4, 2025)]

You might look into materials/conferences/webinars available from: National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) Beyster Institute ESOP Association

Here's an article that identifies some of the issues and transition relief for employers (albeit not specifically related to retirement plans).

It's been a while, but ... would the "secondary" (or "contingent") beneficiary be relevant only if the "primary beneficiary" predeceased the participant? Once the participant dies, if the "primary beneficiary" is still alive, don't they effectively step into the shoes of a participant -- such that they would basically have their own beneficiary?

@Mleech Also see prior discussion here:

Ferenczy Benefit Law Center article today -- anything here that might be of help? https://ferenczylaw.com/flashpoint-updates-to-the-dfvcp-the-good-the-bad-and-the-quirky/

There are a few sources listed here: https://benefitslink.com/research.html I'm not seeing that any have the format you're describing, though.

Thanks, @Effen -- that was a fun thing to wake up to on a Saturday. 😲 We did manage to stop them mid-stream, and have added a few more safeguards. Staying one step ahead is a challenge sometimes!

Duplicate - see

Now flip that around: what issues/concerns does that raise for the plan sponsor? How can/should the plan sponsor be proactive in protecting itself?

A few days ago, a question was asked on this board about issues that might be raised when the plan's investment advisor is approached by a participant for individual investment advice for the participant's personal (non-plan) portfolio. Looks like this could become a hot issue for plan sponsors as advisors seek to "turn participants into lasting clients". See this upcoming NAPA webcast: Grow Beyond the Plan: How to Convert Participants into Lifelong Clients What sorts of fiduciary issues does this raise for the plan sponsor -- and the investment advisor? What about contractual provisions that the plan sponsor should ensure are included in the advisor's service agreement? @Paul I@Peter Gulia

Looks like this could become a hot issue as advisors seek to "turn participants into lasting clients". What sorts of fiduciary and contractual issues does this raise? Upcoming NAPA webcast: Grow Beyond the Plan: How to Convert Participants into Lifelong Clients

timely article Here's a timely article that might address some of those questions. (No affiliation, just came across my screen earlier this week.)

The April 17 notice extending the deadline references Rev. Proc. 2018-58 -- discussion of Form 5500 and PBGC filings are on pages 57-58.