"Given the rules for setting up an Account and the annual contribution limitations, a child's family members and relatives should carefully coordinate their efforts to open Accounts, make contributions and elect the $1,000 pilot program contribution for the family's various eligible children. It may be helpful to submit comments on the need for guidance to mitigate excess contributions due to miscommunication among family members."  MORE >>

"The DOL's announcement in January that it would reduce its focus on enforcing rules governing how plans meet their fiduciary duties to missing participants ... may have given some plan sponsors a sigh of relief.... Contributing to the [Retirement Savings Lost and Found database] is a win for plan sponsors ... as it is another 'tool in their toolbox' to show the DOL they are trying to connect with participants in fulfillment of their fiduciary duties."  MORE >>

"[P]lan administrators [should] ... [1] Work with the recordkeeper to ensure participant populations are mapped by regulatory safe harbor used, ... to determine necessary operational changes and, as applicable, confirm that the recordkeeper is making those changes. [2] Ensure that paper statement templates are updated to include the mandatory e-delivery election instructions and plan contact information. [3] Confirm internal or external third-party mailing processes to ensure required disclosures are delivered timely.... [4] Determine whether other administrative processes are impacted by the USPS shift -- such as delivery of claims and appeals decisions, responses to requests for documents, and any other tasks or responses that are required to be provided by a certain date -- and implement, or ensure third parties implement, changes as necessary."  MORE >>

"An appellate court has rejected certification of a class seeking to sue plan fiduciaries who held BlackRock LifePath target-date funds.... The Fourth Circuit is essentially saying that for defined contribution plans, formal structure cannot hide the fact that damages are individualized account losses.... This opinion ... directly challenges the procedural foundation used in many of the large fiduciary-breach cases over the past 15-20 years." [Trauernicht v. Genworth Fin. Inc., No. 24-1880 (4th Cir. Mar. 10, 2026)]  MORE >>

"A recently filed ERISA complaint has generated headlines suggesting a novel new theory of ERISA liability based on climate risk ... The core climate theory arguably rests on a false premise, and the more traditional 401(k) imprudence claims that do the real work beneath the climate narrative have notable factual gaps." [Kvek v. Cushman & Wakefield U.S., Inc., No. 26-0736 (W.D. Wash. complaint filed Mar. 3, 2026)]  MORE >>

"A federal judge in Texas officially closed the book on former President Joe Biden's fiduciary rule by granting an unopposed motion to vacate the rule.... A separate federal court in Texas will likely similarly order the rule vacated in the coming days in a parallel case in which an unopposed motion to vacate has also been filed." [FACC v. DOL, No. 24-0163 (E.D.Tex. Mar. 12, 2026)]  MORE >>

34 pages. "In retirement plans, especially [DC] plans, assets are increasingly moving into structures that live outside the strictest 'retail' regimes (CITs, private equity, insurance separate accounts, alternative vehicles).... The fiduciary overlay under ERISA ... may not fully compensate for diminished product-level protections. What this paper will do:[1] Describe how the investor-protection architecture was built and what it was meant to solve. [2] Show where and how the perimeter is shifting in the retirement marketplace. [3] Provide a practical framework for fiduciaries to evaluate 'non-40 Act' and private-market exposures in DC plans. [4] Suggest policy and industry responses that balance innovation with durable investor protections."  MORE >>

"If we want retirement savings to follow the worker, they shouldn't need a GPS, three passwords, and a tax advisor to get there.... Auto portability would work if it were solely within the employer plan ecosystem -- but as it's currently structured, the money must flow through an IRA. For pre-tax money? Not perfect, but manageable. For Roth money? Full stop.... A participant with both types of funds will see some money move. Other money gets stuck. Confusion increases."  MORE >>

"A prudent fiduciary comparing these alternatives would observe: Annuity provides higher nominal income but destroys capital Treasury strategy produces materially greater terminal wealth Economic breakeven requires extreme longevity Accordingly: Selecting the annuity without evaluating terminal wealth implications risks violating ERISA prudence standards because the fiduciary would be ignoring a material economic dimension of the investment decision."  MORE >>

"[T]he federal government has moved to dismiss a suit from a trio of former Morgan Stanley financial advisers that had filed suit regarding a [DOL] advisory opinion that said the bank's deferred compensation plans likely aren't protected under ERISA."  [Sheresky v. U.S., No. 25-8935 (S.D.N.Y. complaint filed Oct. 28, 2025; defendant's motion to dismiss filed Mar. 11, 2026)]  MORE >>