Insurer properly terminated long-term disability benefits where the treating physician's assessments established the claimant could perform sedentary work, satisfying the plan's "any gainful occupation" standard.

Under current rollover regulations, plan administrators may prescribe any reasonable procedure for a distributee to elect a direct rollover and may impose reasonable requirements for a distributee to provide information or documentation to facilitate the rollover.

Section 324 of the SECURE 2.0 Act directs Treasury to issue sample forms, procedures, and protocols that make rollovers easier to complete and more consistent across plans.

Proposed regulations under section 530A would confine Trump Account investments during the growth period to unleveraged index funds that track broad U.S. equity benchmarks and charge annual fees of 0.1% or less, excluding actively managed, sector, and ESG-labeled funds. Employers contributing to the accounts bear no fiduciary duty for investment selection but should confirm contributions flow to compliant accounts. Comments are due October 20.

Washington's state-facilitated retirement savings program is scheduled to open in July 2027.

Review of 31 retirement plan service providers finds few explicitly restrict participant data sharing for marketing, prompting GAO to call for stronger DOL privacy guidance.

Most employee complaints involve relatively minor issues. Questions about vacation time, payroll, benefits, or workplace policies are common in every organization.

The U.S. Department of Labor has drafted a regulation designed to facilitate employers' use of electronic delivery systems as the default option when dealing with the Employee Benefits Security Administration and other federal agencies.

The July 23 proposed rule would give group health plan administrators an additional safe harbor for electronically furnishing required disclosures to participants and beneficiaries.

How Texas HB 198 and HB 4144 affect municipalities, first responder health benefits, cancer screenings, and retiree illness protection.

Childcare issues are putting pressure on working parents and employers alike. What benefit leaders should know about costs, tax credits and care.

Employers face another steep rise in healthcare expenses in 2027, prompting a closer look at GLP-1 coverage, pharmacy spending and high-cost conditions.

Researchers estimate that independent dispute resolution has created $22 billion in unnecessary spending. But that estimate is flawed, argue associations representing anesthesiologists, radiologists and ER doctors.

In Halloran v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, No. 25-2550, 2026 WL 2545315 (8th Cir. Aug. 28, 2026), a panel of Chief Judge Colloton and Circuit Judges Gruender and Kobes, with Judge Kobes writing, affirmed the termination of a claimant's ERISA long-term disability benefits. The slip opinion appears in Court Decisions above.

In Laurel Hill Management Services v. La-Z-Boy, the Sixth Circuit held that ERISA preempts out-of-network providers' negligent-misrepresentation and promissory-estoppel claims premised on oral assurances given during benefits-verification calls, reaffirming its 1991 Cromwell precedent. Mayer Brown flags a developing circuit split and counsels administrators to keep call recordings and rely on the written plan when providers claim they relied on the phone call.

In Grice v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, No. 25-50566, 2026 WL 2519457 (5th Cir. Aug. 26, 2026), a per curiam opinion, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in this ERISA action challenging the denial of long-term disability benefits.

In Bennett v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company, No. 25-CV-21039-RAR, 2026 WL 2450695 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 21, 2026), United States District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II granted the plaintiff's request to transfer the case out of her chosen forum, while shifting the costs of the move to her.

On August 26, 2026, the SEC submitted a rule proposal titled "Executive Compensation Disclosure Reform" to the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. SEC rulemaking initiatives under review by OIRA are listed on a dashboard until the review is completed.

New CRFB analysis finds Americans retiring this decade are scheduled to receive benefits equal to 133% of combined worker and employer payroll taxes, as the program heads toward a 2032 trust fund shortfall.

Remote financial wellness programs can improve retirement saving behavior, but surveyed consumers still prefer personal or hybrid communication with advisers.

The supply of skilled workers only continues to tighten as more reach retirement age amid rising demand, a Lightcast report said.

For companies and investors in the fast-growing health and wellness sector, building a lasting business takes more than meeting consumer demand.