"Starting in 2026, participants will be required to make certain catch-up contributions on an after-tax Roth basis. That ... has real implications with regard to how plans are designed, how payroll systems operate, and how employees think about saving for retirement. For employers, this is both a compliance issue and a chance to re-check whether their plan is set up to make things easier for participants -- or more challenging."  MORE >>

"The [pooled plan provider (PPP)] is the primary, and ultimate, fiduciary for running the PEP.... [T]he PPP needs to be qualified and that takes years of industry experience. In addition, employers should consider doing a litigation search about the PPP. A history of lawsuits can be a bad sign and should be investigated. "  MORE >>

"An increasing number of states are establishing state-sponsored retirement savings programs. Like CalSavers, many programs utilize Roth IRAs as the default retirement account for employees. However, unless legislation is passed to amend the IRC, most employees who participate in these programs will face limited portability of their retirement savings."  MORE >>

"The Seventh Circuit rejected SuperValu’s contention that the MPPAA required a fund to “deduct contribution units for asset sales qualifying under safe-harbor § 4204 for the full ten-year lookback period.” In fact, the court observed that the MPPAA’s payment-schedule statute does not refer to the safe-harbor statute at all, and thus SuperValu could not smuggle those provisions in to reduce its payments." [SuperValu, Inc. v. United Food & Com. Workers Unions & Emps. Midwest Pension Fund, No. 24-2486 (7th Cir. Oct. 9, 2025)]  MORE >>

"Plan fiduciaries and plan sponsors should: [1] consider how the activities of investment managers and other service providers, including activities outside of direct services to the plan, could be perceived to create conflicts of interest; and [2] review service provider contracts and internal policies and procedures for avoiding and managing such conflicts." [Spence v. Am. Airlines, Inc., No. 23-0552 (N.D. Tex. Sep. 30, 2025)]

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"The big picture overall was incremental growth. Because these programs are not brand new, their days of sharp increases in registration and participation are over."  MORE >>

"S 2403, the Retire Through Ownership Act ... would ... [a]mend the definition of 'adequate consideration' under ERISA to provide a fiduciary with good faith reliance on the methodologies set forth under [Rev. Rul. 59-60] in determining the fair market value of an asset."  MORE >>

"[A] trust should not be named as beneficiary of an IRA unless there is a legitimate reason to do so.... [1] Minor as Beneficiary.... [2] IRA beneficiary is someone who may need help with managing the IRA funds and taking required distributions, even if the beneficiary is an adult.... [3] Creditor protection.... [4] Control.... [5] Second marriages."  MORE >>

" 'Pension systems with no or limited restrictions tend to perform better in the Index,' commented Tim Jenkins, lead author of the report and Partner at Mercer. 'This suggests that instead of imposing mandates, governments can focus on making investment options attractive, promoting transparency and sound governance, and fostering collaboration with the private sector to support sustainable retirement systems and economic growth.' "  MORE >>

"An important takeaway for an employer-sponsor of a top hat plan is that the plan's language pertaining to plan amendments, or termination of the plan itself, needs to be carefully drafted to preserve the employer's discretion, otherwise the employer could be contractually limited in its rights to take future actions." [Hoak v. Ledford, No. 24-12148 (11th Cir. Aug. 26, 2025)]  MORE >>

"Auditing stock-based compensation is a complex process that requires management to have a thorough understanding of the types of awards granted to employees and retain underlying contracts in an organized fashion. As part of the financial statement audit process, your auditor will aim to ensure that stock-based compensation calculations and disclosures are accurate and comply with applicable accounting standards[.]"  MORE >>