News Archive

"The Self-Correction Program (SCP) lets plan sponsors correct the most common operational failures without IRS involvement or a user fee. SCP is not available to correct document failures or qualification issues not appropriate for self-correction under SCP. This article will focus on the proper self-correction of the most common errors found during financial statement audits."  MORE >>

"[I]ndependent evaluation of a consulting relationship requires looking past process documentation to economic architecture. The most important questions are not about methodology. They are about money. How does your firm generate revenue beyond our retainer? Does any portion of your compensation, or that of your parent, flow, directly or indirectly, from recordkeepers or investment managers you recommend to us? ... Can you help us understand, in writing, every way your firm, not just your team, is compensated in connection with our retirement plan? How is individual consultant compensation structured, and does any component create incentives around provider relationships?"  MORE >>

"Every year, thousands of Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) across the country hand off their ACA reporting obligations to a payroll vendor, a benefits administrator, or a general-purpose HR technology platform and trust that the job is being done correctly.... [T]he accuracy of the Forms 1094-C and 1095-C matters enormously ... This article is for employers who want to understand what accurate ACA reporting actually looks like -- and for the brokers and advisors who serve them. Because the stakes are too high to leave this to chance."  MORE >>

"For the moment, though, pay particular attention to the Proposal's six defined factors. For each factor, there is a standard that reflects the DOL's expectations of plan fiduciaries. In addition, there are examples of prudent and imprudent fiduciary behavior under each example. Those factors, standards, and examples reflect the DOL's thinking. That thinking is consistent with views on retirement plan professionals in most cases. While some may be different or more demanding than current practices, they still reflect the behavior that the DOL clearly expects from fiduciaries, and fiduciaries should take that into account as they undertake their activities on behalf of plans."  MORE >>

"[T]he Sixth Circuit became the first federal appellate court to weigh in, determining that ERISA prohibits employers from using unreasonable or outdated actuarial assumptions when calculating joint and survivor annuities. Just days later, the Eastern District of Missouri reached the opposite conclusion ... The decision whether to proactively amend plan assumptions is not straightforward. Updated assumptions can increase plan liabilities, and an amendment could be characterized as a tacit acknowledgment that the prior assumptions were inadequate, potentially strengthening retroactive claims."  MORE >>

"Although rooted in an executive order on alternative assets, the proposal addresses more than just alternative assets and outlines a new process-based safe harbor for fiduciary decision-making.... [B]eyond plan fiduciaries who are directly impacted by the Rule, the Rule will also impact many other stakeholders in the DC Plan ecosystem, including plan consultants, investment advisers, fund sponsors/managers, asset managers, recordkeepers, insurers, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and other DC plan service providers and product manufacturers."  MORE >>

"One of the most consequential features of the Proposed Rule is its breadth. Although the rulemaking was prompted by the Order's directive to facilitate access to alternative assets, the safe harbor's detailed fiduciary process framework is designed to apply to the selection and monitoring of all designated investment alternatives on a plan's menu -- not only to products offering exposure to private equity, private credit, real estate, or other alternative strategies."  MORE >>

"Healthcare costs remain top of mind for many Americans ... Premiums have increased across commercial and individual marketplaces ... The public and private sectors are looking for solutions as U.S. spending on prescription drugs continues to increase ... Price transparency for healthcare prices has momentum ... Federal and state policymakers show interest in addressing the impacts of healthcare consolidation."  MORE >>

"[T]he only participants who default to electronic disclosure of all participant statements are those who are wired-at-work and have received the required 2002 Safe Harbor Notice or those who have affirmatively elected ... to receive electronic statements.... [It] may be reasonable to just give paper statements to everyone (and, if you want, you can also provide duplicate electronic delivery to all). If you choose this option, however, remember to consider that one of the advantages to electronic delivery is the security it provides."  MORE >>

"The proposal includes what the DOL terms as 'narrow' amendments to ERISA's two separate electronic disclosure safe harbors to implement the paper benefit statement requirement under [SECURE 2.0]. The proposed rule would apply to defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) plans that are subject to ERISA. Comments on the proposed rule are due by April 27, 2026[.]"  MORE >>

This 186-page report describes, and organizes by topic in detail, over 200 FMLA decisions of federal and state courts from November 1, 2024 through October 31, 2025.  MORE >>

"Executive benefits are an increasingly common way for employers to attract and retain top talent for key positions in the organization. Although nondiscrimination rules often present barriers to implementing certain forms of executive arrangements, there are almost always workarounds, alternatives, or taxable (with a gross-up if desired) approaches that can accomplish many of the same goals."  MORE >>

"[T]he proposed regulation is much broader than the corresponding rule for pension and retirement plans, not only in terms of the type of compensation and fees that are subject to disclosure but also regarding [1] the extent of the written disclosure, [2] the timing and frequency of disclosure, [3] the requirement to generally disclose using monetary amounts (versus formulas or percentages), and [4] the provision of specific rights to plan fiduciaries with respect to the disclosures (e.g., audit rights)."  MORE >>

81 pages; Jan. 21, 2026.  Cumulative list of PBGC court cases, with summaries, organized by topic.    MORE >>

This 50 page guide is organized by plan type, regardless of agency: [1] All plans; [2] Health and welfare plans; [3] All retirement plans; [4] DB retirement plans; [5] DC retirement plans.  MORE >>

6-page chart describes important administrative dates and deadlines for single-employer defined benefit plans that are subject to ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.  MORE >>

"[T]he burden of requesting affirmative elections from all catch-up eligible participants will exceed the burden of sending a deemed election notice ... Assuming that service providers will take care of administering the Roth catch-up mandate will almost certainly land employers in correction-land.  ... Collaboration with payroll companies, bundled recordkeepers, and third-party administrators, as applicable, will be instrumental to the success of the Roth catch-up mandate administration."  MORE >>

"Heath savings accounts (HSAs) are proving to be a way for many employers and employees to better control health care costs, thanks to their tax benefits, lower premiums, and long-term investment opportunities. Learn how to drive greater participation throughout the plan year."  MORE >>

"Normally, making 401(k) deferrals on a pre-tax basis provides a tax advantage to an employee ... However, in the case of a tipped employee, it may actually create a tax disadvantage, because it converts otherwise tax-free income into taxable income.... Employee education is obviously going to be critical.... [U]nless there is a very generous match, it may be hard to get low-paid tipped workers to see a reason to make contributions that do not produce an immediate tax benefit. Employers may wish to consider making safe harbor nonelective contributions to the plan."  MORE >>

"The deemed Roth catch-up election feature is an optional mechanism that can streamline compliance with the Roth Catch-up Rule for employers whose systems support automated contribution tracking and integrated participant communications.... However, for employers with decentralized payroll processes, complex workforce structures, or limited administrative bandwidth, adopting a deemed Roth feature may increase the potential for misclassifications, mid-year adjustments, or reporting errors."  MORE >>

"Who can and who must be auto enrolled? ... Default deferrals ... Automatic increases ... Affirmative election ... Notice requirements ... Plan mergers and spin-offs and mandatory automatic enrollment ... MEPs and PEPs ... Behavioral finance."  MORE >>

"The deemed Roth catch-up election offers important advantages over an affirmative election approach.... However, there may be challenges to implementing the deemed Roth catch-up election. Monitoring the IRC section 402(g) limit on a pre-tax only basis for Roth catch-up participants is beneficial in that the effective opportunity may be easier to administer. However, most payroll systems only track the IRC section 402(g) limit on a combined pre-tax and Roth basis. So separately tracking the amount of pre-tax contributions may not be available or may only be feasible after making significant payroll programming changes."  MORE >>

"If reading all these rules has you thinking about eliminating Roth provisions or catch-ups from your plan, I don't blame you, so here are some of the most common considerations ... [1] Plans do not have to offer a Roth option. [2] Plans cannot require that ALL catch-up contributions be ROTH contributions. [3] Plans cannot make Roth available only for catch-up contributions. [4] Plans cannot make Roth available only to catch-up eligible participants. [5] Catch-up eligible participants who are not High Earners are not precluded from making catch-up contributions in a plan that does not have a Roth feature."  MORE >>

"Sponsors will need to amend plan documents implementing the Roth catch-up rule no later than December 31, 2026 ... With respect to safe harbor 401(k) plans, the IRS indicated that a midyear plan amendment implementing this feature does not constitute a prohibited midyear change that would jeopardize safe harbor status."  MORE >>

"91% of large employers worry about the long-term cost of GLP-1 drugs for weight management.... [D]espite the widespread conversations about GLP-1s, many employers still have questions: What do these medications do? How much do they cost? What's the ROI? And what support programs should be in place?"  MORE >>