"The [PBGC] today announced the relaunch of its Opinion Letter Program. This initiative provides meaningful compliance assistance to the public by answering questions about how PBGC would apply the law to specific factual circumstances."  MORE >>

"[The IRS] has specific language and procedures to correct plan errors ... [R]efunds distributed to HCEs [in error] are considered 'overpayments,' that is, amounts paid to participants that should not have been.... In general, the IRS's correction rules require the Plan to request that participants repay the overpayment.... However, the SECURE 2.0 Act made fixing this problem easier if the overpayment is an 'inadvertent benefit overpayment' or 'IBO'."  MORE >>

"The Treasury Department and IRS recently released additional guidance related to these accounts within two coordinated notices of proposed rulemaking that address the critical threshold questions of [1] how Trump accounts are opened generally, and [2] how the one-time $1,000 government 'pilot program' contribution is deposited into the accounts of eligible children born from 2025 through 2028."  MORE >>

"The decision ... establishes, at least in the Fourth Circuit, that ERISA Section 502(a)(2) claims brought in the context of a defined contribution plan are 'individualized monetary claims' that cannot be aggregated into a mandatory class action, and it reinforces defendants' ability to argue that certification should be denied where plaintiffs cannot demonstrate that proposed class members have actually suffered the same injury." [Trauernicht v. Genworth Fin. Inc., No. 24-1880 (4th Cir. Mar. 10, 2026)]  MORE >>

"Reversing two district court dismissals, the court held that ERISA's actuarial equivalence requirement imposes substantive limits on the assumptions plans may use, including a prohibition on unreasonably outdated mortality tables.... Writing for the majority, Judge Stranch framed the central question as whether ERISA's actuarial equivalence requirement permits plans to rely on assumptions that are materially disconnected from current reality. The court answered in the negative." [Reichert v. Kellogg, No. 24-1442, consol. Watt v. FedEx, No. 24-5945 (6th Cir. Mar. 16, 2026)]   MORE >>

"[M]any retirement plan recordkeepers are offering and promoting online security guarantees or fraud reimbursement programs to address unauthorized or fraudulent transactions, promising to make participants whole and reimburse them for losses that are at no fault of the participant.... Far from being simple supplemental consumer benefits, the security guarantees or fraud reimbursement programs that are marketed as protecting participants must be evaluated through the lens of ERISA's fiduciary standards."  MORE >>

"More than half of respondents ... (57%) allow employees to defer up to the full deferral limit (Section 402(g) limit and catch-up, if eligible), regardless of the compensation cap while 38% limit deferrals when the compensation cap has been reached, and five percent have another approach.... Only 12% said that not applying the compensation limit affected testing, and those stated that they had to make adjustments/refunds to HCEs after the fact[.]"  MORE >>

"This article focuses on describing the Administration's position on digital assets, explaining how plan sponsors should approach the topic from a compliance perspective, and predicting what comes next.... [The authors] recommend that sponsors exercise the same prudence and thoughtful process when considering digital asset investment vehicles as they would in evaluating any potential investment, while also considering the aspects of digital assets that make them unique in the investment space."  MORE >>

"Eight former [DOL] officials are calling on lawmakers to reject legislation designed to limit the recent tsunami of ERISA litigation.... [The ERISA Litigation Reform Act (HR 6084)] was said to clarify the burden of proof in certain fiduciary-related claims and establish a targeted stay of discovery during the early stages of litigation."  MORE >>

"The program would cost the federal government $285 billion over its first ten years, RAND estimated....As workers build up their retirement savings, they become less dependent on Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income ... By year 40, total government costs would add up to nearly $1.2 trillion. Total savings would have pushed past $5 trillion."  MORE >>

"Both annuity purchase interest rates declined by an average of 16 basis points entering the month of March.... With many pension plans still in a healthy funded position and interest rates remaining above historical averages, plan sponsors have an opportunity to stay proactive."  MORE >>

"[A] new survey of investors nearing, or in, retirement ... finds people are more concerned about their future; and they cite the prospects of Social Security cuts and high inflation as most harmful.... [S]ome plan to delay retirement and shift to more conservative investments. Since hedging risks comes at a cost, the greater uncertainty of today's policy environment clearly hurts older Americans."  MORE >>

"TPA does away with a strategic asset allocation (SAA), in favor of setting a reference benchmark (say, 80% equities / 20% bonds). The CIO and investment staff then build a portfolio which has a similar risk profile as the reference benchmark but eliminates formal asset class limits which exist in the SAA approach.... As CIOs of mid-market public pension plans, [the authors] see several challenges with TPA that are papered over or simply not addressed in most discussions."  MORE >>