"The FAB represents a meaningful recalibration of EBSA's enforcement posture.... [T]he emphasis on loyalty over prudence as an enforcement priority ... underscores the importance of maintaining robust fiduciary governance processes and thoroughly documenting decision-making.... [T]he explicit mention of ESG objectives as an example of goals 'unrelated to participants' best interests' signals continued scrutiny of ESG-related investment strategies and activities (including proxy voting) for ERISA plans.... [T]he commitment not to regulate by enforcement should provide an opportunity for fiduciaries to defend good faith processes.... [T]he new investigation timelines and quarterly review requirements reflect a welcome commitment to efficiency." MORE >>
"Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciaries, sponsors, and service providers should be particularly interested in the new guidance [FAB 2026-01], which rejects certain past practices that many in the ESOP space have long considered abusive." MORE >>
"Democrat leaders in the House of Representatives called on the Inspector General for the [DOL] to look into why the ERISA Advisory Council (EAC) has not met since 2024 and has not been carrying out its required duties or swearing in new members." MORE >>
"The overall shift [described in FAB 2026-01] seems to be an emphasis on violations of loyalty, rather than prudence. At a high level, this suggests a lowered focus on technical mistakes, good-faith process errors, and 'gray-area' interpretations -- and a heightened emphasis on self-dealing, hidden conflicts of interest, misuse of plan assets, and acting for reasons other than participants' benefit." MORE >>
"This memorandum sets forth EBSA's enforcement priorities and guiding principles. These priorities and principles are designed to ensure that EBSA's enforcement is fair, even-handed, responsive, and focused. The four priorities address: [1] Focusing enforcement on the most egregious conduct and significant harm; [2] Ensuring, whenever possible and consistent with our mission, that EBSA does not regulate by enforcement and instead promotes fairness, prior notice, and clarity to the regulated community; [3] Requiring proper review by senior agency officials of all critical enforcement initiatives; and [4] Committing to timely and responsive enforcement. These principles will ensure that the Department's enforcement authority is used in a manner that promotes transparency, consistency, and the rule of law." MORE >>
"The White House requested a discretionary budget of $9.9 billion for the DOL as a whole. The DOL enacted budget for 2026 was $13.7 billion.... [EBSA] would receive $181.1 million in funding, a cut of $10 million from 2026 enacted levels, and the same as the requested level from last year by the White House.... The IRS requested $9.8 billion in funding, a cut of $1.4 billion from the enacted level for 2026. The White House blueprint adds that ... agency staffing was reduced by 27%." MORE >>
"From implementing new tax laws, a flurry of executive orders with implications for both retirement and welfare plans, updated agency guidance, increased litigation and enforcement activity, and updates to longstanding requirements, plan fiduciaries have a great deal to manage as they work to stay current. Layered onto these federal developments is a growing patchwork of state and local regulation. Jurisdictions continue to expand mandated benefits, including insurance coverage requirements and state retirement savings programs. For plan sponsors operating across multiple jurisdictions, coordinating compliance has become not only an administrative challenge, but a strategic one." MORE >>
"The [DOL] is selling its new fiduciary rule as protection. Protection from lawsuits. Protection through process. Protection via a checklist. But strip away the language, and the reality is far more troubling: This rule is not about reducing litigation. It is about unlocking new revenue streams for Wall Street and the insurance industry -- while leaving plan sponsors holding the liability." MORE >>
"This report examines [1] when married participants are required to obtain spousal consent to remove funds from or designate a beneficiary in defined contribution plans, and how often fund removal occurs; [2] what stakeholders said about the potential effects on spouses when married participants take out funds without their spouse's consent; and [3] what stakeholders cite as the trade-offs of increasing spousal protections and potential alternatives." [GAO-26-107536pub. Mar. 05, 2026; rel. Apr. 06, 2026]MORE >>
"America's retirement laws have one crystal clear social purpose -- to let more Americans retire with dignity. It's a new day for those 90 million Americans and their families. The [DOL] has taken its thumb off the scale. Our laws and regulations do not permit us to disfavor (or to favor) specific investments or investment types. The Department is now fully out of the game of picking winners and losers." MORE >>
"Recent statements by the EBSA leadership and Assistant DOL Secretary, Daniel Aronowitz, frame ERISA litigation as abusive,' 'frivolous,' and in need of increased structural restrictions.... This position ... is inconsistent with ERISA's statutory design, controlling Supreme court precedent, and the legislative history of ERISA itself. Properly understood, ERISA depends upon participant-driven litigation as a primary enforcement mechanism.... [E]fforts to restrict access to the courts undermine -- not further -- ERISA's core purposes." MORE >>
"By smashing the ERISA-weaponizing trial bar cabal, Trump is freeing American savers from a paternalistic attitude that says 'Washington knows best' -- and private-market investments are too complex for average Americans to understand, to boot. In reality, alternative investments can provide real diversification for investors' portfolios; that's precisely why Wall Street elites have increasingly turned to them over the years." MORE >>
"Insurance agents, annuity sellers, brokers and other sales-oriented professionals providing one-time rollover or product recommendations ... are no longer treated as ERISA fiduciaries.... To be considered a fiduciary, an advisor must provide advice on a regular basis, pursuant to a mutual agreement, that serves as a primary basis for investment decisions and is individualized to the client. Critics say that framework breaks down in a world dominated by rollovers and episodic advice." MORE >>
"A senior policy advisor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) stood by his earlier characterization of ESG as an example of Marxism at the Investment Adviser Association (IAA) Compliance Conference in Washington. The remarks could be a sign of things to come for ESG policy at the [DOL]." MORE >>
"It's one thing to have access to advice; it's another thing entirely to implement it effectively, particularly when plan structures or service provider practices limit how advice is implemented. Defined contribution plans, by design, give individuals responsibility over their accounts. When that responsibility exists without the ability to meaningfully exercise choice, it's time to examine whether the system is functioning as intended." MORE >>
"The return to the Five-Part Test narrows who is treated as a fiduciary. In general, an adviser is only considered an ERISA fiduciary if they provide investment advice on a regular basis under a mutual understanding that the advice will serve as a primary basis for investment decisions.... [An] adviser who recommends that a departing employee roll over a 401(k) balance into an IRA may not be acting as an ERISA fiduciary." MORE >>
"[SEC] Commissioner Mark Uyeda argued ... that it is essential for defined contribution (DC) plan investors to have access to private securities. This would help the diversification of their portfolios and put them on an even keel with defined benefit (DB) plan participants." MORE >>
"This document implements the judicial vacatur of the Department's 2024 final rule defining who is a 'fiduciary' under [ERISA]. This document also reflects the judicial vacatur of the Department's 2024 amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 (PTE 2020-02) and the judicial vacatur of portions of the preamble to PTE 2020-02; and republishes in full the operative text of PTE 2020-02 (as originally published on December 18, 2020)." MORE >>
"The [ERISA Litigation Reform Act's (HR 6084)] main provisions would: [1] Change the burden of proof for adequate consideration ... [2] Change the current burden of proof to require plaintiffs to prove that service provider fees were not reasonable and not necessary. [3] Ensure that the expensive and time-consuming process of discovery does not occur until a court has decided a claim may move forward." MORE >>
"The decision ... establishes, at least in the Fourth Circuit, that ERISA Section 502(a)(2) claims brought in the context of a defined contribution plan are 'individualized monetary claims' that cannot be aggregated into a mandatory class action, and it reinforces defendants' ability to argue that certification should be denied where plaintiffs cannot demonstrate that proposed class members have actually suffered the same injury." [Trauernicht v. Genworth Fin. Inc., No. 24-1880 (4th Cir. Mar. 10, 2026)] MORE >>
"Eight former [DOL] officials are calling on lawmakers to reject legislation designed to limit the recent tsunami of ERISA litigation.... [The ERISA Litigation Reform Act (HR 6084)] was said to clarify the burden of proof in certain fiduciary-related claims and establish a targeted stay of discovery during the early stages of litigation." MORE >>
"An appellate court has rejected certification of a class seeking to sue plan fiduciaries who held BlackRock LifePath target-date funds.... The Fourth Circuit is essentially saying that for defined contribution plans, formal structure cannot hide the fact that damages are individualized account losses.... This opinion ... directly challenges the procedural foundation used in many of the large fiduciary-breach cases over the past 15-20 years." [Trauernicht v. Genworth Fin. Inc., No. 24-1880 (4th Cir. Mar. 10, 2026)] MORE >>
34 pages. "In retirement plans, especially [DC] plans, assets are increasingly moving into structures that live outside the strictest 'retail' regimes (CITs, private equity, insurance separate accounts, alternative vehicles).... The fiduciary overlay under ERISA ... may not fully compensate for diminished product-level protections. What this paper will do:[1] Describe how the investor-protection architecture was built and what it was meant to solve. [2] Show where and how the perimeter is shifting in the retirement marketplace. [3] Provide a practical framework for fiduciaries to evaluate 'non-40 Act' and private-market exposures in DC plans. [4] Suggest policy and industry responses that balance innovation with durable investor protections." MORE >>
"A federal judge in Texas officially closed the book on former President Joe Biden's fiduciary rule by granting an unopposed motion to vacate the rule.... A separate federal court in Texas will likely similarly order the rule vacated in the coming days in a parallel case in which an unopposed motion to vacate has also been filed." [FACC v. DOL, No. 24-0163 (E.D.Tex. Mar. 12, 2026)] MORE >>
