BENEFITS DIGEST

Two sets of proposed regulations address how employer-sponsored Trump Account contribution programs will operate and how account assets may be invested before a beneficiary turns 18. Seyfarth walks through the requirements, including a separate written plan document, a $2,500 per-employee cap on tax-favored Section 128 contributions, cafeteria plan elections for employee pre-tax contributions to dependents' accounts, and nondiscrimination testing that tracks the dependent care FSA rules. Contributions default to an S&P 500 index ETF with ESG index funds off the table, and open questions remain, from tracking eligible dependents to coordinating contributions across a controlled group.

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.

The IRS issued a proposal outlining the acceptable investments for Trump Accounts. The proposal covers fees, foreign investments, ESG funds, and other investment management issues.

EBSA sent its replacement for the 2022 Biden-era ESG rule to OIRA on June 30, 2026; agenda target release July 2026. Expected to restrict fiduciary consideration of climate/social factors under the

The US Treasury also posted a rule list that provides SECURE 2.0 guidance including required minimum distributions.