47 pages; Aug. 28, 2025. "Reminders: [1] Distributions to victims of domestic abuse.... [2] Distributions for emergency personal expenses.... [3] Transfers and rollovers of assets and the substantially equal payment method.... [4] The direct payment requirement for certain distributions for payment of health or long-term care insurance repealed."  MORE >>

"The staff's revised position could substantially increase the number of [closed-end funds (CEFs)] that invest a large portion of their assets in private funds and that are available to defined-contribution plans ... even though [Accounting and Disclosure Information 2025-16] does not reference the executive order directly or mention defined-contribution plans.... The ADI cites several protections for investors in CEFs that invest in private funds. These protections may exceed those applicable to other vehicles available to defined-contribution plans."  MORE >>

"[T]he Order does not exchange existing law; instead, it is a policy direction for the DOL (in consultation with the SEC, Treasury, and other appropriate regulators, as may be appropriate) to reexamine fiduciary prudence as it relates to offering alternative asset investment options under participant-directed DC plans. This article addresses key considerations for plan fiduciaries in light of the Order, so they can understand what has changed and better prepare for the DOL that will follow."  MORE >>

"From a practical perspective, the rescission of the 2023 Opinion highlights a need for any plan fiduciaries who relied on the 2023 Opinion to make investment management decisions to review such decisions to determine whether they were made pursuant to a program that may be deemed by the new administration to violate civil rights laws.... Equally, if not more importantly, the 2025 Opinion highlights how quickly and significantly fiduciary responsibility policy can change based on ancillary factors."  MORE >>

"Plan sponsors may not realize there is a gap in coverage, especially in situations involving related employers who maintain separate 401(k) plans. One of the most common errors in coverage testing is not counting all of the employees who are required to be included in the tests, which includes employees of related employers even if they are not participating in that entity's plan."  MORE >>

"When is a Supplemental Schedule of Assets Acquired and Disposed of Within a Year (line 4i) required to be included with an employee benefit plan's financial statements? How are such transactions identified? [This article provides] a general overview to help navigate this requirement."  MORE >>

"A recent IRS private letter ruling (PLR) highlights the importance of reviewing Form 5498 ... Carla got married and submitted a request to her IRA custodian to change the registration on her Roth IRA to reflect her married name. When her IRA custodian processed her request, they accidentally removed the Roth label from the title but treated it as a Roth IRA in all other aspects.That one missing word created years of confusion, as whenever Carla checked her account statement, she assumed that it was a traditional IRA."  MORE >>

"[1] Be skeptical about their inclusion in target date funds, consider pushing back on It, and document doing so ... [2] Watch out for private equity assets being back doored into existing fund options ... [3] Focus on exploiting the upcoming safe harbor ... [4] Overcommunicate with participants ... [5] Fully investigate the new investment assets ... [6] Make it a settlor, not fiduciary, decision."  MORE >>

"To avoid being a landfill where small balances languish, automatic rollover IRAs -- whether 'traditional' or related to auto-portability -- should be evaluated using ... three criteria. These criteria ensure that individuals aren't charged excessive fees, earn a reasonable rate of return and have access to their money and information to make better financial decisions."  MORE >>

18 pages. "88% of fund investors agree that 'as long as people can still request paper at no cost, it's a good idea to make e-delivery the default.' 87% of fund investors aged 65 or older support an e-delivery default.... 84% of fund investors receive at least some of their financial documents electronically. 38% of fund investors receiving paper could benefit from an e-delivery default.... 93% of fund investors engage in online banking."  MORE >>

"[W]ithout a statutory change, 403(b) investments are still limited to annuity contracts and custodial accounts holding mutual fund investments. None of these will support the typical private equity investment. Even should the proposed 403(b) CIT legislation ever pass, it would likely still be insufficient to support private equity investments from being held by most 403(b) plans."  MORE >>

"The court acknowledged that NCR's offering of a lump sum to replace the plan-prescribed annuities was not by itself wrongful.... However, just because NCR could pay a lump sum did not mean that its payments were automatically adequate.... The Eleventh Circuit agreed with the district court that the payments constituted a breach of the plan terms because they 'adversely affect[ed]' the 'accrued benefits' (i.e., the life annuities) of 'any' participant. The word 'any' was key; a lump sum would violate the plan if it 'led to a reduction in the amount of the life annuity of even a single participant.' " [Hoak v. Ledford, No. 24-12148 (11th Cir. Aug. 26, 2025)]  MORE >>