The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
July 15, 2026
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15 items · ~4 min read
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (2) · Retirement Plans (7) · Litigation (2) · General Benefits (3) · Webinars (1)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
2 itemsThe Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) says that purchasing annuities for actively employed participants in a frozen defined benefit (DB) plan doesn’t trigger event reporting under ERISA Section 4043. MORE >>
Source: Mercer
“In general, the DOL concluded that Trump Accounts and related employer contribution programs are not subject to Title I of ERISA. ... Employers considering facilitating contributions to Trump Accounts should carefully structure the arrangement consistent with DOL and applicable Internal Revenue Code requirements, including the Code Section 128 Trump Account contribution program requirements and related non-discrimination, notice, and reporting obligations.” MORE >>
Source: Nelson Mullins
Retirement Plans
7 items“DC plans are probably the most efficient vehicle around under which to "accumulate" interests in guaranteed lifetime income. ... Distributing those rights accumulated in a DC plan is quite another matter. DC plans are, by their inherent limitations, lousy at making lifetime income payouts. This is mostly because of the same malady DB plans suffer: any plan sponsored by any employer can, and will (I would also argue, must) undergo transitions over a participant's lifetime which is going to impact either access to or protection of accumulated guarantees-which, as we continue to see, can be a problem.” MORE >>
Source: Business of Benefits
[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
Developing Industry Groups Push to Modernize Securities Rules for 403(b) Plan Investments“The groups and leaders argued that more than 10 million 403(b) participants — including teachers and employees of nonprofits and charitable organizations — "continue to face outdated federal securities law barriers that prevent access to the same low-cost institutional investment and protected lifetime income solutions available in 401(k) plans, governmental 457(b) plans, and the federal Thrift Savings Plan." ... Another was the INVEST Act of 2025 (H.R.3383), which the House passed on Dec. 11, 2025, in a 302-123 vote, but which so far has not proceeded in the Senate.” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
[General Benefits]
The Great Fee Recapture: Why Wall Street Is Leaving SEC Mutual Funds for State-Regulated Collective Trusts“For three decades, the retirement industry has fought a losing battle. Not against regulators. Not against Congress. Against competition. Competition drove investment management fees relentlessly downward.” MORE >>
Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project
[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
Tech Talk: Who Can Be a Prototype or Volume Submitter Mass Submitter?“The IRS says that an entity can be a mass submitter of either a prototype or volume submitter plan if it both: The 15-word-for-word-identical-adopter requirement only needs to be met for one plan of the mass submitter.” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
“The funded status of the 100 largest U.S. corporate defined benefit plans slipped to 109.5% in June, down 0.1 percentage points and $2 billion from May's figure, according to Milliman's Pension Funding Index. Discount rates dropped by 1 percentage point, leading to a $1 billion rise in plan liabilities. June's investment return of 0.42% was 0.11 percentage points below the monthly expected return of 0.53%, totaling a $1 billion loss. ... MetLife estimated that the average U.S. corporate pension funded status fell to 105.7% in June from 107.2% in May, driven by investment losses and lower discount rates.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
“59% think they should be saving more for retirement – a well-placed concern given that 63% of retirees WISH they had saved more for retirement. ... Seven in 10 (73%) participants wish they could "push an easy button" and fully delegate their retirement planning and investing, up from 55% ten years ago in 2016. ... 91% would be interested in an in-plan retirement income solution.” MORE >>
Source: J.P. Morgan Asset Management
[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
Developing FASB proposes accounting changes for some cash balance plans“To eliminate these concerns, the proposed ASU would require use of the assumed interest crediting rate as the discount rate, but only for "in-scope" MRCBPs meeting the following conditions: The proposal would require employers with in-scope MRCBPs to apply the amendments prospectively — that is, to use the assumed interest crediting rate as the discount rate — as of the next measurement date. Early adoption would be permitted. Employers would not have the option to continue using a discount rate based on high-quality bonds.” MORE >>
Source: Mercer
Litigation
2 items“The court explained that the records the plaintiffs identified consisted of voluminous spreadsheet and remittance data that required explanation before a jury could discern whether they established an entitlement to damages, noting that Soderstrom himself had produced three versions of his audit report. Because the plaintiffs relied exclusively on the excluded audits and identified no other avenue from which damages could be calculated, they could not carry their burden of proving damages, and summary judgment was proper on Counts 1, 2, and 4.” MORE >>
Source: Roberts Disability Law
“AT&T Inc. agreed to a proposed $184.1 million settlement to resolve a nearly six-year class action lawsuit alleging the company shortchanged thousands of retirees by using outdated actuarial assumptions to calculate certain pension benefits.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
General Benefits
3 items[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
Bipartisan Senate Bill Aims to Force Action on Social Security Solvency“Seven senators on Tuesday introduced the PROMISE Act, creating a formal congressional process to address Social Security's looming insolvency and requiring lawmakers to consider legislation that would keep the trust funds solvent for at least the next 50 years A group of seven Senators introduced a bipartisan proposal on Tuesday to encourage congressional action on Social Security in the form of The Protecting Retirement Opportunities and Maintaining Income Security for Everyone (PROMISE) Act.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
[Retirement Plans]
Philadelphia Voters Approve “PhillySaves” Automatic Retirement Savings Program“Philadelphia voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure authorizing the creation of the Philadelphia Retirement Savings Board to oversee "PhillySaves," a city-run automatic retirement savings program for workers whose employers do not sponsor retirement plans.” MORE >>
Source: JD Supra
“Learn how TrumpIRA.gov and the Saver’s Match could expand retirement savings access, which workers and account types may be affected, and what plan sponsors should consider as 2027 implementation approaches.” MORE >>
Source: Word on Benefits
Webinars
1 item[General Benefits]
From Insights to Impact: Improving Retirement Readiness Through Data and Communications | Segal“2 pm ET Retirement readiness isn’t one-size-fits-all, and understanding what your people really need can be a challenge.” MORE >>
Source: Segal