"Due to the receipt of significant adverse comments, the [DOL] is withdrawing the July 1, 2025 direct final rule ... [e]ffective August 11, 2025[.]"  MORE >>

"Due to the receipt of significant adverse comments, the [DOL] is withdrawing the July 1, 2025 direct final rule (DFR) ... [e]ffective August 11, 2025[.]"  MORE >>

"The Executive Order will act as a roadmap to kick off a regulatory process that will likely result in new rules and/or guidance to encourage fiduciaries to consider including alternative assets in DC plans.... [T]he Executive Order, along with recent litigation developments, signals a shift in momentum for DC plan investments -- placing a different balance on the tradeoffs between innovation and investor protection."  MORE >>

"While the prior guidance provided a road map for sophisticated plan fiduciaries already investing their defined benefit plans in alternative assets, the new guidance may go farther, including by supporting a plan fiduciary's obtaining exposure to private assets through asset allocation funds or multi-strategy funds ... where one or more fiduciary investment professionals ... oversees the investment program."  MORE >>

"The DOL could [1] issue a new Information Letter similar to the 2020 version or simply rescind the 2021 Supplemental Statement.... [2] issue a formal advisory opinion containing the current Administration's view.... [3] issue a class exemption providing legal relief from ERISA's prohibited transaction rules, including permitting DC plan fiduciaries to include proprietary products in their plans.... [4] programmatically file amicus briefs consistent with the Executive Order.... A more ambitious approach would involve promulgating a safe harbor through a new regulation."  MORE >>

"More than half of plans that allow loans do allow participants to continue to repay their loans after separation from service (55 percent). For the 45 percent who do not, the most common response for not allowing it is the additional administrative burden, and the challenges with implementing it and tracking down participants after they leave, though some didn't know that this is an option."  MORE >>

"Offering resources like workshops, webinars, or guides designed to explain how inflation could affect retirement planning can help empower employees to make more informed decisions. Information about how Social Security benefits are adjusted for inflation and how to plan for increasing healthcare costs in retirement can also help."  MORE >>

"Private equity (PE)-owned businesses face unique challenges, particularly in managing their retirement plans. These organizations must balance the often-competing priorities of their PE owners, employees, and internal strategic objectives. As decision-making structures evolve and companies scale, PE-owned firms require retirement solutions that not only provide consistency for employees but also retain the flexibility to adapt to shifting business goals and objectives."  MORE >>

"More than half of states prohibit automatic enrollment for public employees, and only about half of the retirement systems that could adopt automatic enrollment provisions have chosen to do so.... Factors explaining lack of interest in automatic enrollment by public employers include increased overhead costs, the perception that governments are already providing an adequate retirement plan, and union concerns about the impact of reduced take-home pay."  MORE >>

"From 2001 to 2023 ... 99% of public pension funds failed to meet their average assumed rates of return.... Despite widespread reductions in assumed returns over the last decade ... 86% of public pension plans still assume returns higher than their 23-year average -- which suggests that further downward revisions ... are likely on the horizon, along with more increases in unfunded pension liabilities and catch-up hikes in government pension contributions."  MORE >>

"[T]he Ninth Circuit effectively provided future plaintiffs with a clear roadmap for filing suits that might be more successful, such as by alleging that a plan invested in 'risky' assets more than comparable plans.... [The recent Executive Order] is most interesting for its recognition of the fact that ERISA litigation has been stifling retirement plan investment innovation. The Order directs DOL to curb such litigation, so that fiduciaries can use their best judgment regarding the investments that best benefit their participants, rather than picking investments to reduce the chance of being sued." [Anderson v. Intel Corp. Inv. Policy Comm., No. 22-16268 (9th Cir. May 22, 2025)]  MORE >>

"people should invest in things they understand, and private equity is not a transparent investment. Moreover, it takes years for returns to be realized, and participants who leave early will have paid higher fees for nothing. Private equity simply adds unnecessary risk to retirement saving. Further, it is not apparent that private equity produces outstanding returns in retirement plans."  MORE >>

"[I]ndividuals and businesses in parts of West Virginia affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that began on June 14, 2025 ... now have until Feb. 2, 2026, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.... [I]ndividuals and households residing or having a business in Marion and Ohio counties qualify for tax relief."  MORE >>

"A recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals case reminds us that these plans must satisfy unique compliance requirements to continue to remain exempt from such ERISA provisions. This case determined that plan participants did not have a state law fiduciary duty claim because ERISA preempts state laws, provided that the top hat plan complies with certain requirements[.]" [Aldridge v. Regions Bank, No. 24-5603 (6th Cir. Jul. 17, 2025)]  MORE >>