"[Older highly paid employees (OHPEs)] may make catch-up contributions only on a Roth basis.... Plan administrators and recordkeepers will need to monitor three categories of employees for tax-qualification purposes. Different compensation is used to determine whether an employee is an OHPE, a highly compensated employee (HCE), or a key employee."  MORE >>

"[In] order to determine the number of employees we have to use the COBRA definition for 'normally employs'.... [M]andatory automatic enrollment must be applied to all employees who have met the eligibility requirements to make elective deferrals in the plan.... [P]articipants who have made an affirmative election are not required to be automatically enrolled in the plan."  MORE >>

"Under the proposed rule, the TSP record keeper overseeing the loan payments would combine accrued interest and the principal of the loan when reamortizing it. That would set in motion a recalculation of the loan principal."  MORE >>

"The Court's holding makes it significantly easier for plaintiffs to defeat early-stage motions to dismiss, reach costly discovery, and extract a settlement ... [and thus] is likely to embolden the plaintiffs' bar to file more lawsuits involving 401(k) and employee stock ownership plans.... Fortunately for the defense bar, the Court's opinion is cabined to section 406(a) claims[.]" [Cunningham v. Cornell Univ., No. 23-1007 (S.Ct. Apr. 17, 2025)]  MORE >>

"What is a reasonable and necessary plan expense? ... Why does reimbursing an employer with plan assets raise any concerns? ... How can a plan document address reimbursements? ... How can the reasonableness of reimbursement arrangements be strengthened?"  MORE >>

"Not only is the cash in retirement accounts valuable, so too is the associated personal data.... While it is impossible to eliminate the cybersecurity threats to retirement plans, sponsors need to know that as ERISA fiduciaries, they are obligated to mitigate cybersecurity threats, and ... failure to mitigate cyber threats can result in fiduciary breach allegations which put the personal assets of sponsors at risk:"  MORE >>

"There appear to be two primary reasons as to why ERISA plans have been slow to invest in ETFs: first, ETFs may not easily fit within ERISA plan recordkeeping platforms and, second, some of the advantages of ETFs may not apply to ERISA plans, or apply as readily.... [A]ny fiduciaries considering adding ETFs may want to consider the 'fit' challenges related to direct ETF investments."  MORE >>

"The Social Security Administration's (SSA) Limited Access Death Master File (DMF) has undergone significant changes over the past month.... Once a reliable source, the DMF now reflects only 16% of actual decedents ... [T]he SSA has proposed renaming the DMF the 'Ineligible Master File,' signaling a broader evolution in its purpose."  MORE >>

"Until now, Rule 7 has not been commonly invoked in ERISA cases, but the Court's invitation will likely prompt an increased resort to that procedural device. In the face of this lower pleading standard, courts must be prepared to more aggressively manage litigation so that the ability to plead a bare-boned prohibited transaction claim does not become a cudgel to extract unwarranted settlement payments." [Cunningham v. Cornell Univ., No. 23-1007 (S.Ct. Apr. 17, 2025)]   MORE >>

"This holding will impact ERISA breach of fiduciary pleadings and procedural practice. Defendants' ability to obtain a dismissal of prohibited transaction claims under Rule 12 will be severely limited. However, the Court points defendants to another procedural mechanism to curtail unfettered ERISA fiduciary duty litigation: Rule 7(a) of the Federal Rules." [Cunningham v. Cornell Univ., No. 23-1007 (S.Ct. Apr. 17, 2025)]  MORE >>

"In this white paper, Cassidy is proposing to: [1] Establish a safe harbor for companies, so they can offer portable benefits to independent workers without the fear of misclassification lawsuits. [2] Give workers clarity and consistency by instituting a single employment test under federal law. [3] Increase health care coverage options for independent workers.... [4] Empower independent workers to participate in retirement plans, like pooled employer plans and single employee pension IRAs, that are already available under federal law."  MORE >>

"Retention bonuses have long been a staple of executive compensation -- a way to secure leadership continuity during key transitions or turbulent market cycles. But in 2025, these awards are drawing sharper scrutiny than ever before. What once served as a straightforward tactic to retain top leadership can now be a flashpoint for criticism -- especially when such retention tools are not clearly tied to performance."  MORE >>