Treasury and the IRS proposed rules defining what a Trump Account can hold before the beneficiary turns 18: generally an unleveraged mutual fund or ETF tracking a broad U.S. equity index such as the S&P 500, charging no more than 0.1 percent in annual fees, with the trustee selecting a default fund when no election is made. The August 11 rules told employers what they may contribute; this one tells trustees what the money may sit in. Comments are due October 20, 2026.

The Prudent Investment Fiduciary Rules blog proposes a quantitative framework for documenting fiduciary prudence, combining cost-comparison metrics with AI-assisted process tools. Dense, but of interest to committees formalizing their prudence files.

Boutwell Fay's walkthrough of the August 11 employer-contribution proposed regulations for Trump Accounts, the third set of rules for the new accounts, with the nondiscrimination overlay plan sponsors will actually administer.

Hall Benefits Law's half-year policy roundup names four developments: the DOL's proposed safe harbor for fiduciaries selecting 401(k) investments, EBSA's shift to fewer but more participant-focused enforcement interactions, SEC moves to streamline executive compensation disclosure by company size, and EBSA's technical release that ERISA Title I generally does not apply to Trump Accounts. A mixed but useful mid-year checkpoint for benefits and executive compensation practice.

Foley's reminder that years of CARES, SECURE, and SECURE 2.0 operation may not yet be reflected in plan documents: when operations, communications, and the document diverge, the amendment deadline is the cleanup moment. A practical December 31 checklist starter.

A Gusto report finds retirement benefits are becoming more common, particularly in states with automatic IRA programs.

Treasury’s latest guidance answered key compliance questions, advisers say, but employers are now figuring out how to administer the new benefit.

Proposed regulations would limit investments during a child’s growth period to low-cost, non-leveraged equity index funds and ETFs, with annual fees capped at 0.1%.

Trump Accounts will help eligible children “enjoy years of compound earnings for their future college, retirement and other needs,” an IRS leader said.

Employees’ reasons for delaying retirement included the cost of living, not earning enough and a lack of savings.

Retirement plan sponsors should be aware of a new rollover process proposed by the IRS pursuant to Notice 2026-49 (the “Notice”) intended to streamline the process of direct rollovers to or from a retirement plan.

In this week's edition, the ERISA consultants at the Retirement Learning Center (RLC) address how a plan corrects a payroll error for a participant who elected to make voluntary after-tax contributions to the plan, but the contributions were not withheld.

Another firm read on the DOL's proposed e-delivery safe harbor for group health plans: who counts as covered, the notice mechanics, and how the proposal extends the 2020 retirement-plan framework to the health side.

Gap coverage, supplemental benefits and options for various types of workers can help avoid cost shifting and still provide support.

Medical and pharmacy trends remain high at 7.7% overall. Learn what's driving healthcare costs and what employers should expect moving forward.

After years of arguing over what GLP-1 coverage should cost, employers are starting to ask the harder question: whether it is paying off. EBN on the early return-on-investment evidence and how benefit teams are measuring it.

A new executive order puts childhood vaccine policy back in the spotlight, but an executive order does not itself change the law, employer health plan coverage, or school vaccination requirements. Dr. Andy Halpert and attorney Katharine Marshall break down what the order does and does not do, and what employers should actually be watching as federal vaccine recommendations shift.

Employers that provide a Dependent Care Assistance Program will be pleased to learn that for the first time in 45 years, the IRS has issued guidance on how to apply the nondiscrimination rules that apply to DCAPs.

We describe how employer-sponsored health plans can use audits of their pharmacy benefit managers to identify operational and performance issues and help control drug cost expenditures.

Dependent Care Assistance Programs are subject to the nondiscrimination rules that are set forth in Internal Revenue Code Section 129 (Section 129).

Mercer reads the August 11 proposed regulations the way plan sponsors will experience them: testing requirements for dependent care FSAs get easier to satisfy, and employers may rely on the proposed rules immediately.

Mercer's GRIST desk tallies the pension risk transfer docket after Schoen v. ATI: four district courts have now dismissed PRT challenges for lack of standing while four have let them proceed, with the DOL filing amicus briefs on the sponsor side and noting that no annuity selected in a risk transfer has defaulted in thirty years. The Konya and Doherty appeals are positioned to resolve the split.

Roberts walks through Laurel Hill v. La-Z-Boy, yesterday's Court Decisions lead: the Sixth Circuit's published holding that ERISA preempts out-of-network providers' negligent misrepresentation and promissory estoppel claims over a plan administrator's oral reimbursement assurances, and what it means for providers who rely on verification calls in the Sixth Circuit.

A Michigan federal court denied a disability claimant's motion for appellate attorney fees as untimely, holding the clock ran from the circuit's mandate rather than the district court's later action. Roberts on the timing trap in fee practice after a successful appeal.

A Washington federal court enforced an AD&D policy's aviation exclusion against the widows of two pilots killed in a crash, rejecting the argument that a gap between marketing materials and the certificate changed the result. Roberts on why ERISA mandates no minimum substantive content for coverage.

Mayer Brown flags a federal ruling that restricted stock units can be excluded from the regular rate for FLSA overtime calculations, a helpful data point for employers layering equity onto the pay of overtime-eligible workers.

Akerman breaks down what TMA III actually struck from the QPA methodology: ghost rates, bonus and incentive payments, and the treatment of single-case agreements, and what health plans and insurers should do while the Departments draft replacement guidance.

Behavioral biases reduce income product usage that otherwise could help participants during the decumulation stage. However, there are steps recordkeepers and sponsors can take to account for those biases, according to a new report.