"[Advisory Opinion 2025-04A] applies only to the facts set forth therein and to the party to whom the AO was addressed. However, it is significant in that it resolves the uncertainty in the QDIA rules regarding whether this type of managed account could be a QDIA."  MORE >>

"Generally, plan sponsors should be prepared to implement the Roth catch-up rule for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025 (i.e., January 1, 2026, for calendar year plans). This will require coordination with ERISA counsel, the company's payroll provider, and the plan's recordkeeper and third-party administrator."  MORE >>

"Key decision points for plan sponsors include ... [1] Type of catch-up contribution elections ... [2] Separate catch-up elections ... [3] Spillover catch-up contributions and when to 'deem' contributions as Roth ... [4] Pay tracking ... [5] Not required to offer Roth contributions ... [6] Coordination with non-discrimination testing."  MORE >>

"[A] variety of reasons [may] lead to a participant's being deemed missing, such as a participant's failing to update contact information after moving, switching phone providers, changing their name due to a marriage or divorce, or passing away with their beneficiaries unaware of their benefits. This article summarizes a plan sponsor's duties regarding missing or unresponsive plan participants and alternative methods for disposition of related plan amounts."  MORE >>

"This article summarizes state retirement initiatives for private-sector workers and rounds up relevant Mercer and third-party resources." [States included in this update: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New, Jersey, New, Mexico, New, York, Oregon, Rhode, Island, Vermont Virginia, and Washington]   MORE >>

"In the first withdrawal liability case to reach the Supreme Court in more than three decades, the Court will consider a narrow, but consequential, statutory question ... The answer will determine whether multiemployer pension plans have the flexibility to update actuarial assumptions after year end or whether those assumptions must be fixed at the close of the prior plan year, which provides more certainty to withdrawing employers." [M & K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir Feb. 9, 2024; cert. pet. granted Jun. 30, 2025 No. 23-1209)]  MORE >>

"Updated research from Milliman finds that surrender rates on variable annuities with guaranteed living withdrawal benefits more than doubled from 2022 to the end of 2024.... The studies also revealed that the rate at which GLWB contracts are starting their income during the 2023-24 calendar years is, on average, about 20% higher than in the previous two-year period."  MORE >>

"If deciding what to do with an old 401(k) plan has been on your to-do list for a while, here are the key steps you should take to get it done. [1] Check your account value. [2] Determine whether to stay within the 401(k) confines. [3] Assess the quality of your 401(k) options. [4] Find the right IRA provider. [5] Decide whether to convert your traditional 401(k) assets to Roth. [6] Execute. [7] Determine what to invest in."  MORE >>

"[T]here is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to filing for -- or changing -- your Social Security retirement benefits.... [1] Projecting your benefits; [2] Life expectancy and Social Security; [3] How marriage affects your benefits; [4] How to 'undo' your benefits; [5] Social Security planning and your overall financial picture; [6] Concerns about Social Security solvency; [7] Making an informed decision."  MORE >>

"This report updates the maximum statutory valuation rate and nonforfeiture interest rate for calendar year 2026 issues of life insurance products and the maximum statutory valuation interest rates for calendar year 2025 issues of annuity products."  MORE >>

"The concurrence written by Circuit Judge Adalberto Jordan, joined by Circuit Judge William H. Pryor, Jr., is noteworthy. They propose to convene en banc to 'consider overruling Mason v. Continental Group ... which imposed a judicially created and atextual administrative exhaustion requirement for fiduciary breach and statutory claims under ERISA ... ' In the concurrence, Judge Jordan points out that the Eleventh Circuit is the only circuit with a mandatory exhaustion requirement and that the majority of circuits have held that 'plaintiffs asserting fiduciary-breach statutory claims under ERISA do not have to exhaust administrative remedies.' " [Bolton v. Inland Fresh Seafood Corp. of Am., Inc., No. 24-10084 (11th Cir. Oct. 15, 2025)]  MORE >>

"While the numbers are eye-popping compared to normal employment agreements, professional athletes' contractual negotiations with their employer, the MLB team, must abide by the same regulations, risks, and benefits as any employment contract. This article addresses how the recent MLB deferred compensation contracts fit into the larger legal landscape of employment contracts and associated risks and benefits to players and teams."  MORE >>