The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
August 6, 2026
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9 items · ~3 min read
Top of the Brief
Annuities Sales Reach New Heights in Q2 2026, per LIMRA“According to LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey, which represents 84% of the total U.S. annuity market, sales reached $123.9 billion in the second quarter of 2026. Year-to-date total annuity sales reached $231.3 billion, 2% higher than the first half of 2025. Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters. “Total annuity sales set an all-time quarterly record, the 11th consecutive quarter above $100 billion,” said Bryan Hodgens, LIMRA’s head of research, in a statement. “A combination of global tensions, market volatility and rising interest rates drove demand that lifted all major products and pushed the total market to a new high.”
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (1) · Retirement Plans (3) · Litigation (3) · General Benefits (2)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
1 item“The IRS has announced that it will soon issue opinion letters for certain DC qualified pre-approved plans; it also has provided deadlines related to Cycle 4 DC qualified pre-approved plans and applications for certain determination letters.” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
Retirement Plans
3 items“An NCPERS survey suggests lower-stakes experimentation with artificial intelligence is happening more quickly than strategic integration.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
[General Benefits]
Defined benefit plan RMD rules after SECURE 2.0: Should plan sponsors keep an earlier required start date?“As the December 31, 2026, deadline approaches for adopting Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) and SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) amendments to defined benefit (DB) and other workplace retirement plans, plan sponsors must work with their plan service providers to review and update their plan provisions to ensure compliance. One critical decision for DB plan sponsors is whether to retain a required start date (RSD) for benefit distributions—such as age 70½—that is earlier than the new later statutory required beginning date (RBD) for required minimum distributions (RMDs), which has been raised to age 72, 73, and 75 depending on the participant’s” MORE >>
Source: Milliman
“According to LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Annuity Sales Survey, which represents 84% of the total U.S. annuity market, sales reached $123.9 billion in the second quarter of 2026. Year-to-date total annuity sales reached $231.3 billion, 2% higher than the first half of 2025. Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters. “Total annuity sales set an all-time quarterly record, the 11th consecutive quarter above $100 billion,” said Bryan Hodgens, LIMRA’s head of research, in a statement. “A combination of global tensions, market volatility and rising interest rates drove demand that lifted all major products and pushed the total market to a new high.” MORE >>
Source: PLANADVISER
Litigation
3 items“Along with the $48 million figure that ADP was ordered to pay, the settlement agreement reportedly includes fees up to $16 million for class counsel, litigation costs and expenses that do not exceed $785,000, and “Class Representatives’ Case Contribution Awards” for plaintiffs Beth Berkelhammer and Naomi Ruiz, that do not exceed $20,000 each. The agreement will include other terms and conditions, such as fiduciary training for all new committee members by outside legal counsel in 2027 and 2028, a full review of target-date fund (TDF) options in the plan to determine continued use, and the appointment of an independent retirement plan consultant (IPC) to ADP’s retirement plan. The payroll pro” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“Federal judge reverses a prior decision that had challenged how AT&T disclosed brokerage window recordkeeping fees, a ruling ERIC says preserves a practical compliance standard relied on by defined contribution plans across the industry The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California this week reversed an earlier ruling against AT&T in a lawsuit over how its 401(k) plan disclosed certain recordkeeping fees. “A recordkeeper cannot predict which of the thousands of funds available through a brokerage window employees will pick, so the law needs to allow for practical disclosure methods, not perfection.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“A new 401(k) suit alleges employment discrimination in a refusal to offer investment options that don’t invest in fossil fuels. The plaintiff here[i] is Dr. Andrew Hartley, a statistical science director at Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and the suit accuses his employer of discriminating against him and refusing to accommodate his religious beliefs in violation of Title VII[ii] and the New York State Human Rights Law. The suit asserts that he is a devout Christian and member of the United Methodist Church, and that he sincerely believes[iii] that investing his retirement money in “ecologically and socially destructive” fossil fuel companies violates his religious beliefs. The suit (Hartley ” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
General Benefits
2 items“Artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted workforce analytics and simpler changes to how reports are generated and reviewed can both help employers continuously monitor that data and correct issues earlier, reducing wage-and-hour exposure in California and beyond.” MORE >>
Source: Ogletree Deakins
“If a tool can recognize voices, that implicates biometric privacy laws. At least two class actions have been filed against vendors for capturing and storing “voiceprints,” so employers are the logical next target. If the tool not only provides a summary of an interview with a candidate, but also scores the candidate’s performance, it could trigger obligations under global AI laws.” MORE >>
Source: Littler