News Archive

"[P]lan sponsors may wish to use the additional time provided by the delay to coordinate with recordkeepers on system readiness to implement any required or desired changes to address the Delayed RMD Regulatory Provisions. Plan sponsors should also document interim administrative positions to support reliance on the good-faith compliance standard[.]"  MORE >>

"The Program is open to employers, plan sponsors, unions, and supporting practitioners (like lawyers and actuaries).... Submissions to the Program are made electronically.... The Program also includes a searchable database that will serve as a public repository of opinion letters issued by the Office of the General Counsel from 1974 to date."  MORE >>

"Employers should continue to exercise care to ensure that requests for medical records and similar information are justified by applicable law ... but can now be assured that, where necessary, HIPAA does not excuse the employee's obligation to provide it.... Employers should also continue to maintain medical records separately from personnel files, limit access to those with a need to know, and state in forms and notices how information will be used and protected, aligning with federal and state privacy obligations.​" [Trumper v. Women's Healthcare Assoc. LLC, No. 1010 (Ore. App. Nov. 26, 2025)]  MORE >>

"For plan sponsors, the issue is less about the use of AI itself and more about whether existing claims oversight and payment-integrity controls are keeping pace with increasingly automated billing environments. While these technologies improve efficiency, they also introduce a growing risk for self-insured health plans: an increase in duplicate and near-duplicate claims."  MORE >>

"Recordkeepers tend to do a good job preserving the design of customers' retirement plans during restatement and other update processes. But mistakes do occur, and the significant number of changes being made as part of the CARES/SECURE restatement process may increase the risk of unintended changes to the written terms of the plan.... [P]lan document updates provide an excellent opportunity to reaffirm that the employer's administrative practices are aligned with the written terms of the plan document."  MORE >>

"For businesses operating in or adjacent to the digital asset space, this guidance fundamentally changes the regulatory landscape. The 'regulation by enforcement' era appears to be over, replaced with clear taxonomies and defined pathways for compliance.... The heart of the SEC's interpretation is a five-category classification system for crypto assets."  MORE >>

"Over the past decade, private equity has significantly accelerated consolidation across the retirement and benefits industries.... For plan sponsors, the key takeaway is not to avoid PE-backed firms -- but to ensure that evaluation processes remain objective, transparent, and well documented."  MORE >>

"While AI can enable PBMs to operate more efficiently and optimize pricing to help lower drug costs, this new technology raises several data privacy, regulatory, and contractual risks for employers that sponsor health plans. This Insight explains how plan sponsors can spot potential red flags and avoid potential liability while benefiting from the advantages that AI can bring to healthcare costs and administration."  MORE >>

"Employers generally seek to include all ERISA welfare benefit plans under the umbrella of a single 'mega' wrap plan document and SPD. This approach facilitates multiple efficiencies and is generally considered the best practice method to streamline plan administrative burdens."  MORE >>

"This article provides a high-level overview of the most common retirement plan structures used by governmental employers, including defined benefit pension plans, 457(b) deferred compensation plans, 401(a) defined contribution plans, and hybrid approaches that combine elements of these structures."  MORE >>

"72% of responding pre-retirees expected to retire on their own terms, up 5 percentage points from last year.... Respondents from younger generations were particularly open to alternative paths ... Overall, 34% of pre-retirees expected to reduce their hours before retiring, 30% expected to take on fewer responsibilities, and 18% expected to move into freelance or contract work. "  MORE >>

"A committee to which fiduciary duties are delegated helps the employer fulfill its responsibilities and offers several key advantages: [1] Delegation and accountability ... [2] Better decision-making ... [3] Risk management ... [4] Vendor oversight ... [5] Stronger documentation."  MORE >>

"Overall, the data show a significant uptick in the volume of IDR cases and corresponding administrative costs. This article also offers a brief update on recent developments in litigation over the No Surprises Act, which has contributed to a more costly IDR system. Indeed, many lawsuits in the most recent wave of litigation -- in which payers are suing high-volume IDR middlemen and providers -- reflect allegations that are consistent with the trends observed in the data below."  MORE >>

"Shortly after final judgments entered in the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas this week officially vacated the Biden-era 2024 final rule, ... the [DOL's] Employee Benefits Security Administration late Wednesday restored [ERISA's] five-part test for determining whether a person is an investment advice fiduciary.... The late-Wednesday news drew a quick and lengthy response on LinkedIn from Lisa Gomez, who led EBSA under the Biden administration."  MORE >>

"Today, the dominant assumption remains that private markets are a distant consideration -- interesting to debate, but slow to materialize because regulatory uncertainty, product complexity, and operational friction will keep adoption measured and far off. But that view underestimates how quickly the underlying conditions are changing. The real risk isn't skepticism, it's assuming there's time."  MORE >>

"Early 2026 brought two major federal actions that reshape how pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are regulated and how plan fiduciaries oversee prescription drug benefits. ... Together these changes send a clear message that PBM arrangements are no longer something plan sponsors can treat as too technical or complicated to understand. Fiduciaries are expected not only to obtain PBM data but to evaluate it, document decisions, and monitor PBM performance over time."  MORE >>

"The bill ... adjusts how the premium is split between medical leave and family leave for employers participating in the state program: Employers will now be able to deduct the full employee share of the medical leave premium. For the family leave premium, employers may deduct up to an amount equal to the total family leave premium plus 45% of the medical leave premium, minus the full medical leave premium."  MORE >>

"The law applies to all private New York State for-profit and non-profit employers who do not offer their employees an employer sponsored retirement plan, and who also meet all of the following requirements: [1] Had at all times during the previous calendar year at least ten employees in New York State, [2] Has been in business for at least two years, and [3] Has not offered, in the preceding two years, an employer sponsored retirement plan."  MORE >>

"Rewards such as lower major medical plan premiums or additional employer contributions to a health FSA, HRA, or HSA would be excluded from an employee's income and would not be subject to income or employment tax withholding, provided that applicable nondiscrimination requirements are satisfied. But rewards that take the form of cash or cash equivalents (e.g., gift cards or gift certificates) are subject to federal income and employment taxes and withholding. They are also reportable on the recipient's Form W-2."  MORE >>

"While prior legislative efforts chipped away at PBM practices through state laws and targeted federal rules, this statute takes a more structured approach by imposing transparency requirements, rebate pass-through obligations, and compensation reforms that directly affect both ERISA plan sponsors and Medicare Part D programs.... [S]takeholders that understand how to use the law will gain a strategic advantage. Those that do not will continue operating under legacy PBM arrangements that no longer reflect the regulatory landscape."  MORE >>

"Registration deadlines are staggered based on employer size, with the first deadline -- March 18, 2026 -- applying to employers with 30 or more employees.... Participating employers are required to facilitate enrollment and payroll deductions, but do not sponsor the IRAs."  MORE >>

"Months after taking approved leave for the birth of his child, the resident skipped a shift to attend a job interview, failed to follow call-out procedures, and sent a contemptuous email to his chief resident when asked about the absence. The chief resident issued a written reprimand and referred the matter to a disciplinary committee, which later suspended him for two weeks for unprofessional conduct. Even assuming the resident could establish a prima facie case of FMLA retaliation, the court held that he failed to show the program's explanation for the discipline was pretext." [Adefurin v. Meharry Medical College, No. 25-5610 (6th cir. Mar. 3, 2026; unpub.)]  MORE >>

"[S]peakers from the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH, the outlier among a provider-dominated panel) each affirmed that increasing government reimbursement for physicians would help practices remain independent. That could stem the tide of practice acquisitions by health systems, payers and private equity that most witnesses -- and lawmakers -- agreed have pushed prices upward. "  MORE >>

"Trump accounts are set to launch in July ... However, many policy experts are already speculating on how they could be further integrated into the retirement system, such as using them to assist in account consolidation and to increase uptake of the Saver's Match."  MORE >>

"The Health Care Affordability and Mitigation Working Group met for the first time last week. Members discussed a 2026 work plan, outlining a fast-paced schedule to develop affordability recommendations for regulators and lawmakers. The initiative will focus on examining factors that drive health care costs and insurance premiums, including expenses within the health system that ultimately flow into insurance pricing."  MORE >>