The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
July 30, 2026
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14 items · ~4 min read
Top of the Brief
PEPs Grow in Importance for Recordkeepers“Pooled employer plans (PEPs) are an increasingly prominent part of recordkeepers’ growth strategy as a way to generate organic business and deepen relationships with distribution partners, according to a new report from Cerulli. The latest Cerulli Edge—U.S. Retirement Edition finds that 60% of recordkeepers already record keep for PEPs, with more planning to do so in the next 12 months. What’s more, as adoption grows, 71% of recordkeepers say that PEPs are a moderate or major strategic priority, and 64% expect them to have a positive impact on their business in the coming year.”
In this issue
Retirement Plans (4) · Litigation (4) · General Benefits (5) · Press Releases (1)
Retirement Plans
4 items“Collective investment trusts are rapidly replacing mutual funds on the investment menus of the defined contribution retirement plans that can utilize them.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
“In its seventh annual report, the Equitable Institute said that the funded status of 45 states’ pension plans improved in 2026, not those of all 50. Further, they said that only seven have a funding level of 100% or more. But variations from state to state notwithstanding, in general public pension plans are not funded as fully as their private-sector counterparts. The Equitable Institute paints it in rather stark terms, reporting that almost 60% of public pension plans “remain fragile or distressed.” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
“Pooled employer plans (PEPs) are an increasingly prominent part of recordkeepers’ growth strategy as a way to generate organic business and deepen relationships with distribution partners, according to a new report from Cerulli. The latest Cerulli Edge—U.S. Retirement Edition finds that 60% of recordkeepers already record keep for PEPs, with more planning to do so in the next 12 months. What’s more, as adoption grows, 71% of recordkeepers say that PEPs are a moderate or major strategic priority, and 64% expect them to have a positive impact on their business in the coming year.” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
“In 2012, California enacted the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program — the first state-run retirement savings program for private-sector employees. Subsequently, many other states have enacted similar programs. Most of these programs, like CalSavers, are payroll deduction IRA programs that are mandatory for employers that don’t qualify for an exemption.” MORE >>
Source: Mercer
Litigation
4 items“The amendment altered only the procedure by which the state’s attorney general could oppose dismissal of qui tam relator lawsuits that would otherwise have been blocked by the public disclosure bar, the court found. The ruling revived a qui tam relator’s lawsuit originally filed eight years before the 2023 NJFCA Opposition Amendment, challenging the setting of interest rates on government bonds by private financial institutions contracted as remarketing agents.” MORE >>
Source: Ogletree Deakins
“Plaintiffs filed two new ERISA suits on June 23, 2026. One in Maryland. One in Connecticut. Both target the same fiduciary duty, and both push the theory onto new ground. Our earlier post covered the American Century One Choice target-date filings. The pattern repeats: Fiduciaries pick a fund. They hold the fund through years of underperformance. They keep no record of a real review.” MORE >>
Source: JD Supra
“A recent decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Havlik v. University of Chicago highlights the importance of promptly resolving deficient retirement plan beneficiary changes and designations.” MORE >>
Source: JD Supra
“A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania dismissed a complaint against Allegheny Technologies Inc. for carrying out a pension risk transfer.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
General Benefits
5 items“While the Department of Labor continues to prioritize protecting retirement plans from cybersecurity risks, some attention must be given to dealing with and preventing those breaches that make it through the loopholes.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
“The SEC’s enforcement pullback in fiscal year 2025 marks a significant shift for institutional investors. With fewer regulatory actions and lower investor recoveries, investors can no longer rely on the SEC as the primary accountability and recovery mechanism. Private securities litigation and Delaware fiduciary duty actions are increasingly important tools for protecting portfolio value. The SEC’s FY 2025 enforcement results confirm a substantial decline in activity.” MORE >>
Source: NCPERS
“Nationwide found that responding advisers’ use of registered index-linked annuities as a market risk protection strategy grew to 52% this year, up from 39% in 2023. The rising use of guaranteed income was also highlighted in this year’s DC Plan Benchmarking Survey conducted by PLANADVISER’s sister publication, PLANSPONSOR. Among surveyed 401(k) plans, 6.4% offered in-plan retirement income products, up from 4% in 2024.” MORE >>
Source: PLANADVISER
[Retirement Plans]
Why Nonqualified Plan Expertise Is (Increasingly) Essential for Advisors“I would expect retirement plan advisors are getting questions and don’t know how to respond, even with the basics,” he said. “They’re not going to keep that client long because there’s so much competition. Their fees are compressing, and their services are increasingly commoditized. The big players are pulling everything in-house and doing it all under one umbrella. So, if they can’t distinguish themselves in how they take care of the executives, it’s going to be hard for them to compete and keep that business.” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
[Retirement Plans]
Over Half of Americans Struggle to Afford $500 Emergency Expense“More than half of American workers cannot cover an unexpected $500 expense from savings. That’s a major finding from SecureSave, a provider of workplace emergency savings accounts, in a new survey analyzing the short-term savings habits of consumers today. The 2026 SecureSave Financial Stress Survey found that 26% of respondents have no savings for emergencies, and 67% have less than three months of expenses set aside.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
Press Releases
1 item[Retirement Plans]
Pension Resource Institute Unveils New Leadership“The firm revealed that Annie Messer has been named president of PRI, while Haley Erickson was appointed chief compliance officer of GPS, an independent pooled employer plan (PEP) fiduciary that is currently operating or in the launch phase of over 30 PEPs. “Haley’s and Annie’s appointments are the culmination of a two-year plan to create an integrated model of legal and operational fiduciary expertise across our ecosystem,” said Jason Roberts, founder and CEO of PRI and managing partner of GPS.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
Also of Note
- Memorial Hermann Health System Reaches Settlement in ERISA Suit Over 401(k) Plan Fees, Fund Choices — “Memorial Hermann Health System, a Texas nonprofit hospital system, has settled a suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) relating to 401(k) plan fees and fund choices.” (Hall Benefits Law)
- Show Your Work: Fifth Circuit Stresses the Importance of Thorough Harassment Investigations — “Quick Hits Factual Background The employee, a Black woman and naturalized U.S. citizen born in Ghana, worked as a registered nurse at the hospital.” (Ogletree Deakins)
- Open Executive Session to Consider the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act — “Senate Finance Committee Democrats introduced an amendment to ban IRS tax audit immunity agreements for sitting presidents and extend the statute of limitations for audits, aiming to prevent future corruption.” (Senate Finance Committee)
- Practical Considerations for Employers Implementing Trump Account Contributions as a Retention and Recruitment Tool — “INTRODUCTION: When Trump Accounts were introduced in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”), employers considering contributing to these tax-advantaged individual retirement accounts for minors faced many legal questions.” (JD Supra)