The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
July 21, 2026
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17 items · ~6 min read
Top of the Brief
Suit Citing Fiduciary Breach in CIT Selection, Forfeiture Reallocation Dismissed“A federal judge has granted a motion to dismiss a suit that alleged fiduciary breaches in the selection of a collective investment trust (CIT), offsetting employer contributions with forfeitures, and excessive recordkeeping fees. The suit was filed in November 2025 by one Victoria Clark,[i] a participant in the Centene Management Corporation Retirement Plan. In it, she alleged that Centene violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") in three ways by: (1) selecting CITs as investment vehicles instead of mutual funds; (2) permitting excessive administrative and recordkeeping fees; and (3) using plan forfeitures to reduce its own contributions rather than pay administ”
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (3) · Retirement Plans (7) · Litigation (2) · General Benefits (5)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
3 items“The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule rescinding portions of its Title VI regulations that addressed disparate impact liability for recipients of federal financial assistance. The rule took effect July 2, 2026. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. The DOL’s recent final rule amends its Title VI regulations to remove provisions the agency says extended beyond intentional discrimination and imposed obligations based on unintentional disparate impact.” MORE >>
Source: National Law Review
“The final rules largely track the January proposed rules but include several notable clarifications responsive to stakeholder comments. They formalize the regulatory label “Protected Time Off,” define it to have the same meaning as “safe/sick time” under Administrative Code Section 20-912, and fold in the additional authorized uses and the immediately available hours requirement established by Local Law 145.” MORE >>
Source: Ogletree Deakins
The IRS is inviting public comments on a new information collection request related to gathering qualitative feedback on the agency's service delivery. MORE >>
Source: Federal Register
Retirement Plans
7 items“Let me tell you about a quiet disaster that's unfolding across your clients' 401(k) statements. For decades, we've told employees a simple story: save consistently, invest wisely, retire comfortably.” MORE >>
Source: Employee Benefit News
“As market conditions grow more complex, retirement plan fiduciaries are rethinking the traditional active-versus-passive debate. A more strategic blend of both approaches may help manage risk, strengthen investment menus and improve participant outcomes in an era of persistent inflation, higher interest rates and market concentration.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
[General Benefits]
Fiduciary Liability Strategy Supports Successful Fund Merger | Segal“As one multiemployer health and welfare fund merged into another, trustees faced important fiduciary liability decisions within a limited time frame. While plan assets and operations were being transferred, fiduciary risk did not end with the merger itself. Claims related to prior fiduciary decisions could arise years later, making continued protection a critical consideration. At the same time, key coverage questions remained unresolved. Deadlines to secure extended reporting coverage were approaching, and recommendations regarding runoff timing did not fully reflect the plan's ongoing administrative responsibilities following the merger.” MORE >>
Source: Segal
[General Benefits]
DOL’s Biggest Blind Spot: 404(a)(5) Fee Disclosures Ignore Annuities the Largest Fees in Many 401(k) Plans“Participants receive tables showing mutual fund expense ratios to the nearest one-hundredth of a percent. Plan fiduciaries compare investment expenses in basis points. Plaintiffs’ attorneys routinely sue over a few basis points of excessive mutual fund fees. Yet the regulation ignores what may be the largest investment fee in more than 200,000 retirement plans: insurance annuity spread fees.” MORE >>
Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project
[General Benefits]
Public pensions are Manipulating Performance – Screams for real Standards“A public pension performance report today typically looks like this: Those last categories are not market prices. They are manager estimates. Yet they are blended together into a single “Total Fund Return.” MORE >>
Source: Milliman
“Rising costs, credit card debt, and other expenses have led almost half of Americans in a recent survey to believe they’ll have less saved for retirement than initially thought. The Schroders’ 2026 US Retirement Survey shows that conflicting financial factors have steered a decline in retirement confidence for 51% of Americans, as many say they’ll need $1.2 million to retire comfortably but expect to have less than $500,000 in savings by then.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“The index is determined by the difference between the discount rates reported by insurers for pricing group annuities and the accounting discount rate used by many plan sponsors. In June 2026, the accounting discount rate increased by 1 basis points (bps), while competitive annuity purchase rates increased by 3 bps. This 2-bps difference led to a decrease in the estimated competitive retiree buyout cost, as a percentage of accounting liability, from 99.7% to 99.6%.” MORE >>
Source: Milliman
Litigation
2 items“A federal judge has granted a motion to dismiss a suit that alleged fiduciary breaches in the selection of a collective investment trust (CIT), offsetting employer contributions with forfeitures, and excessive recordkeeping fees. The suit was filed in November 2025 by one Victoria Clark,[i] a participant in the Centene Management Corporation Retirement Plan. In it, she alleged that Centene violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") in three ways by: (1) selecting CITs as investment vehicles instead of mutual funds; (2) permitting excessive administrative and recordkeeping fees; and (3) using plan forfeitures to reduce its own contributions rather than pay administ” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
[General Benefits]
When a Prudent Process May Not Be Enough“The defendants — fiduciary elements of JPMorgan Chase’s[i] JPMorgan Chase Health Care and Insurance Program for Active Employees and its component Medical Plan. And while, to date, the healthcare fiduciary suits have been few — and those few mostly dismissed — back in March this one managed to keep some of its arguments alive. And interestingly enough, those arguments were based on a recent Supreme Court case. Roughly a year before that participant-plaintiffs Seth Stern, Angela Bindner, and Marianne Schmitt had filed suit, claiming that it “principally involves Defendants’ systemic mismanagement of JPMorgan’s prescription-drug benefits program under the Plan.” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
General Benefits
5 items“Under the bill, introduced by Senators Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Dick Durbin, D-Illinois; and Tim Kaine. D-Virginia, if the SSAB does not submit a proposal, the leaders of the majority party in both the House and Senate would need to introduce a base bill. For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANSPONSOR NEWSDash daily newsletter. Alternatively, any bipartisan pair of members from either chamber may introduce a bill to ensure at least 50 years of Social Security solvency.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
“This paper proposes a different framework. Rather than organizing providers by size, the industry is better understood by business model—specifically, how providers acquire business and how they are compensated. Viewed through this lens, approximately 99 percent of the non-mega-plan marketplace falls into four distinct competitive tiers. Those tiers explain much of the variation in fees, fiduciary conflicts, prohibited transaction risk, and ultimately ERISA litigation.” MORE >>
Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project
“This is a consequential moment for retirement policy. Retirement policy is no longer a niche issue. It's front and center — and now — presidential.” With that, American Retirement Association CEO Brian Graff opened the recent NAPA D.C. Fly-In Forum in Washington, DC. The annual event, which brought together approximately 200 NAPA members from across the country, educates lawmakers on important retirement policy positions and advocates on the industry's behalf.” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
[Retirement Plans]
Many Americans Saving Less for Retirement While Counting on an Inheritance“More than a third (36%) have already saved or invested at least $100,000 less because of it. Among prospective mass affluent inheritors whose decisions have been shaped by inheritance expectations, four in 10 say they are saving less for retirement, 36% are taking more investment risk and 18% are spending more freely on lifestyle or travel. The impact is substantial: 44% report pulling back on savings or investments by at least $25,000 over the past five years, and for more than one in three (36%), that shortfall reaches $100,000 or more.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“Our initial forecast in March 2026 can be found here. It includes information about the limits for qualified retirement plans, how these limits are calculated, and why they may be relevant for certain plan sponsors.” MORE >>
Source: Employee Benefit News