"The DOL acknowledges that some plan sponsors may have already sent or finalized their Annual Funding Notice. The DOL expects those plan administrators to review the annual funding notice in light of the new guidance and potentially correct the Annual Funding Notice if it does not meet the standards provided by the guidance."  MORE >>

"SECURE 2.0 requires the AFN to disclose a plan's funding level using a new metric -- 'percentage of plan liabilities funded' ... [FAB 2025-02] allows the AFN to disclose the new metric using a reasonable estimate of the year-end plan liabilities.... [P]rior model notices no longer fulfill the requirements under Section 101(f) of ERISA, so plan sponsors cannot avoid updating their 2024 AFNs for the modifications made by SECURE 2.0. "  MORE >>

"On January 20, 2025, one of the Executive Orders pulled back all proposed regulations that had been issued in the last 60 days, including proposed regulations on retirement plan changes in the law known as SECURE 2.[0] The proposed regulations pulled back are starting to emerge from the 60-day delay.... Catch-up contributions ... New 401(k) plan mandated automatic enrollment."  MORE >>

"The court held that the company could not apply a pre-retirement mortality discount or use different interest rates for projecting employee contributions when calculating the Residual Annuity. The decision emphasized adherence to established legal doctrines, such as the law-of-the-case, which barred Defendants from re-arguing issues that were or could have been addressed in earlier proceedings." [McCutcheon v. Colgate-Palmolive Co., No. 24-1419 (2d Cir. Apr. 4, 2025; unpub.)]  MORE >>

"It is critical for fiduciaries to be aware of the liquidity restrictions in their plan's stable value fund and proactively develop a strategy to protect the interests of plan participants and beneficiaries. Some actions fiduciaries can take include: [1] Understand the liquidity restrictions in the stable value fund, and their potential impact ... [2] Consider the timing of future actions such as fund changes, recordkeeper RFPs, plan mergers, and plan terminations." [Harvey v Bed Bath & Beyond Inc 401(k) Savings Plan Committee, No. 23-20376 (D.N.J. motion for settlement filed Feb. 14, 2025)]  MORE >>

"A plan index is a smart 'cheat sheet' for avoiding plan operational mistakes that will cost you substantive amounts of money to fix.... Make sure your intent on forms of compensation agrees with what your plan document says ... Creating a procedure and a process to timely submit 401(k) salary deferrals will go a long way in avoiding late deposits later on.... While it's a major responsibility of a third-party administrator (TPA) to track eligibility, tracking it on your side, eliminates the potential for errors[.]"  MORE >>

"Strategic planning can pay enormous dividends toward ensuring a successful integration of retirement benefits with minimal cost and disruption. In this article, [the authors] focus on the compliance challenges relative to your defined contribution (DC) plans during an M&A and discuss high-level strategies for benefits integration and harmonization."  MORE >>

"Daniel Aronowitz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the [EBSA] has written extensively about ERISA litigation reform ... Aronowitz’s blogs point to a strong desire to see the ERISA litigation landscape reformed, such that it is more difficult to successfully bring lawsuits against plan fiduciaries, and plan sponsors in particular."  MORE >>

"[T]here are several actions the Department can take in the near term that would have an almost immediate positive impact for ESOPs.... [1] Terminating common interest agreements.... [2] Adequate consideration.... [3] Ending the national enforcement project against ESOPs."  MORE >>

"The 2025-2026 Priority Guidance Plan will identify guidance projects that the Treasury Department and the IRS intend to actively work on as priorities during the period from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.... Please submit recommendations for guidance by Friday, May 30, 2025, for possible inclusion on the original 2025-2026 Priority Guidance Plan."  MORE >>