Federal regulators will not enforce a rule requiring wellness program rewards to be paid retroactively to the start of the plan year when a participant meets a reasonable alternative standard midyear, as long as the plan pays the reward for the rest of the year. The guidance also confirms that the reasonable alternative standard notice is required only in materials that actually describe the program's terms, not in materials that merely mention it.

The Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of Central States' ERISA preemption challenge to Arkansas Insurance Rule 128, holding that the state's requirement that health plans pay pharmacies “fair and reasonable” dispensing fees is a cost regulation permitted under Rutledge, and that the rule's companion reporting mandate survives because it exists only to enforce that fee requirement, fitting the narrow room the Supreme Court's Gobeille decision leaves for state reporting duties. The panel flagged that ERISA's newly enacted uniform pharmacy-compensation reporting rules, effective for plan years beginning 30 months after February 3, 2026, may change the analysis later. For self-funded plans, the decision extends Rutledge's reach from reimbursement floors to state-mandated fees and data reporting.

While the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) establishes baseline disclosure requirements, a well drafted SPD will go beyond those basic requirements and can play a much broader role in plan administration.

Milliman walks through how pension plans should handle uncashed benefit checks, a recurring administrative problem that carries real fiduciary, financial, and regulatory consequences.

As companies across major sectors continue to announce significant reductions in force, Troutman Pepper Locke examines the retirement plan consequences that can follow a shrinking workforce, and the compliance issues plan sponsors should be watching before the next round of cuts.

With the majority of large corporate DB plans now in surplus territory, Milliman lays out strategies for preserving that surplus and options for putting the excess funds to work.

One of the most important features of Trump accounts is that they must be invested a certain way during the period before January 1 of the year the child turns age 18.

Milliman explains why the PBGC’s new Coverage Assessment Program matters especially for professional service firms, whose defined benefit plans often sit under unique coverage rules.

New NIRS survey shows deepening concerns about retirement viability in current economy, plus a distrust of AI financial advice and crypto investments.

In Technical Release 2026-02, the DOL concluded that Section 530A accounts and employer contribution programs generally are not ERISA-covered pension plans when employers keep a neutral, administrative role. To stay outside ERISA, employers should avoid endorsing particular providers, influencing investment decisions, imposing conditions on account use beyond what the tax code requires, or receiving compensation. Verrill's takeaway is that the guidance clears a major compliance concern for employers weighing 530A contributions, while ERISA risk still turns on program design, communication, and administration.

New proposed regulations make it easier for dependent care flexible spending accounts (“DCFSAs”) to pass applicable nondiscrimination rules under the Internal Revenue Code and, in particular, the “average benefits test.”

Employers are expecting a median 9.2% increase in medical spending next year, according to a new survey. But they’ve underestimated actual cost growth for the past three years, so even that figure may be too optimistic.

PSCA's annual Health Savings Account survey found 83% of eligible employees contributed to their HSAs in 2025, up from 73% a year earlier, while only about a quarter of employers actively position HSAs as part of a long-term retirement savings strategy. NAPA's read: participation is no longer the problem, and the open opportunity for employers is helping workers treat the accounts as more than a spending vehicle.

Accelerating dispute volumes and sky-high award amounts are inflating how much independent dispute resolution is costing the U.S., according to new Georgetown research. Patients could pay the price with higher premiums.

On remand from the Eighth Circuit, a Minnesota federal judge again dismissed the proposed class action claiming Wells Fargo used about $2.2 million in 401(k) forfeitures to reduce its own matching contributions rather than pay plan expenses, this time without prejudice. The ruling turns on standing rather than the merits, so whether the forfeiture-offset practice itself is permissible remains an open question.

In Missouri, a new military leave law will take effect on August 28, 2026, impacting both public and private employers.

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act has long served as the primary framework governing employee leave, but an expanding patchwork of state paid family and medical leave laws now adds obligations that multistate employers must track alongside it.

A new report finds that executive benefits are evolving beyond traditional retention and attraction strategies as employers face delayed retirements, economic volatility, and leadership continuity challenges.