BENEFITS DIGEST

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A publication of The Inner Firm

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

№ 29

13 items · ~3 min read

Court Decisions (1)·Retirement Plans (6)·Health & Welfare (1)·Case Commentary (4)·Leave & Time Off (1)

The One Thing

Class certification in ERISA litigation is no longer the rubber stamp it used to be. Encore Fiduciary surveys the landscape after the Fourth Circuit's Genworth decision, which held that fiduciary-breach claims seeking individualized monetary relief cannot be certified as mandatory classes, and finds courts increasingly demanding rigor before certifying broad participant classes. For plan sponsors and their fiduciary insurers, the certification fight is becoming a genuine line of defense rather than a formality. And the Fourth Circuit stayed busy: its new split decision in Kelly v. Altria leads today's Court Decisions.

Court Decisions (1)

Richard Kelly v. Altria Client Services, LLC
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit 2026-08-10

A participant sued under ERISA after liquidation-request delays kept him from capturing expected stock gains in his 401(k) account. The Fourth Circuit upheld the denial of his benefits and fiduciary-breach claims but reversed on document production, holding the plan's administrative services agreement must be produced on request.

Retirement Plans (6)

What Foreign Decumulation Models Could Help the US?
PLANSPONSOR 2026-08-11

Global retirement experts suggest investment options, advice, and artificial intelligence can all help with drawing down defined contribution savings, with lessons from decumulation designs abroad.

Small Business Retirement Plans: A Primer
Center for Retirement Research (Boston College) 2026-08-11

At any moment, only half of U.S. private-sector workers participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, mainly for lack of coverage. CRR's primer maps the small-business plan landscape where most of that gap lives.

Health & Welfare (1)

Case Commentary (4)

Class Certification in ERISA Litigation: Not so Automatic Anymore
Encore Fiduciary · FID Guru Blog 2026-08-11

Encore's fiduciary team surveys the fallout from the Fourth Circuit's Genworth decision calling out the rubber-stamping of broad ERISA classes, and argues the era of automatic certification is ending. The latest chapter in the class-certification story the Digest has followed since the decision came down.

Leave & Time Off (1)

Blended Premiums, Flexible Rules: First Post-OBBB Guidance on the 45S Credit
Groom Law Group 2026-08-11

Groom unpacks Notice 2026-28, the first guidance on the now-permanent section 45S paid-leave credit since the OBBBA amendments, including how to calculate the credit when an employer funds PFML through insurance premiums rather than paying wages directly. The notice led the Digest on August 6; this is the first full firm analysis.