The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
August 12, 2026
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10 items · ~3 min read
Top of the Brief
U.S. Retirement Plans Turning to Active Management to Navigate Volatility and Concentration Risk“Schroders’ 2026 Global Investor Insights Survey shows U.S. retirement plans are preparing for higher market volatility and are leaning on active management to strengthen diversification, downside protection, and resilience. Sponsors of U.S. retirement plans are prioritizing portfolio diversification, capital growth, and income generation as they navigate a market environment marked by volatility, market concentration, and structural shifts, according to the Schroders’ 2026 Global Investor Insights Survey (GIIS).”
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (1) · Retirement Plans (4) · Litigation (2) · Press Releases (2) · General Benefits (1)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
1 item“Treasury plan would allow up to $2,500 in tax-free employer contributions while setting nondiscrimination, reporting and salary-reduction requirements for workplace programs.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
Retirement Plans
4 items“For many small business owners, launching a retirement plan can be an uphill battle. The process is filled with dense jargon, opaque pricing, and time-consuming administration, said Rakesh Mahajan, chief revenue officer of Human Interest, a provider of 401(k) plans for small and midsize businesses. "Legacy plans often intimidate workers with 'analysis paralysis,' offering complex investment choices and confusing fee structures that discourage enrollment," Mahajan said.” MORE >>
Source: Employee Benefit News
“Schroders’ 2026 Global Investor Insights Survey shows U.S. retirement plans are preparing for higher market volatility and are leaning on active management to strengthen diversification, downside protection, and resilience. Sponsors of U.S. retirement plans are prioritizing portfolio diversification, capital growth, and income generation as they navigate a market environment marked by volatility, market concentration, and structural shifts, according to the Schroders’ 2026 Global Investor Insights Survey (GIIS).” MORE >>
Source: NCPERS
“The “driving need” for retirement income is pronounced as coverage by defined benefit plans declines, said James Ryder, Vice President of State Street Investment Management, in the July 22 Pensions & Investments webinar “Expanding Access & Innovation in Retirement: Policy, Structures, and Solutions.” David O’Meara, Head of Defined Contribution Investment Strategy at Willis Towers Watson and another P&I panelist, agreed. He argued that there is “growing recognition” that providing retirement coverage doesn’t stop at retirement, and that there is a need to provide a source of continuing income.” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
“As of March 31, 2026, it reported: $318.6 billion of fund assets 80+ investment sub-advisers 200+ recordkeepers and 38 trading platforms. Those relationships put Great Gray in the middle of a retirement ecosystem containing some of the biggest names on Wall Street. The Names You Actually Know Great Gray is trustee for CITs sub-advised or used in products involving major financial brands.” MORE >>
Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project
Litigation
2 items“Plaintiff contended that Fidelity did not complete the transactions in time to capture the market gain he predicted and misled him about how quickly he could access the proceeds. After Altria, the plan administrator, denied his claim and the management committee upheld that denial, Plaintiff sued, alleging denial of benefits under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(1)(B), breach of fiduciary duty under § 1132(a)(3), and a claim for statutory penalties under § 1024(b)(4) arising from Altria’s refusal to furnish the Administrative Services Agreement (ASA) between Altria and Fidelity. The district court granted the defendants summary judgment on all claims. The Fourth Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in par” MORE >>
Source: Roberts Disability Law
“In March 2026, the Fourth Circuit issued a favorable and groundbreaking opinion calling into question the all-too-common practice of district courts “rubber stamping” broad classes of plaintiffs in ERISA lawsuits. That case, Trauernicht v. Genworth,1 received some attention, but not nearly the attention it deserved. At the end of July, the Ninth Circuit followed suit and addressed similar class certification issues in a similar way in Munoz v. Alorica.2 These two decisions are a welcome signal of a possible new way to defeat baseless litigation that is filed simply in the hopes of surviving a motion to dismiss and obtaining a settlement.” MORE >>
Source: Encore Fiduciary
Press Releases
2 items[Retirement Plans]
Developing Human Interest Unveils New AI Tool for 401(k) Compliance Monitoring“Human Interest announced the launch of Compliance Guarantee, a new AI-powered compliance monitoring tool designed to help eliminate 401(k) compliance surprises. Human Interest Predictive Compliance Monitoring examines plan health and predicts testing outcomes, offering employers visibility into their compliance status and potential financial impact, and helps reduce uncertainty for plan sponsors and financial advisors, according to the announcement. Citing industry data, Human Interest noted that as many as 30% of all non-safe harbor 401(k) plans in the United States fail their mandatory annual nondiscrimination tests, leaving plan sponsors exposed to IRS tax penalties and DOL compliance scr” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
[Retirement Plans]
Developing Ascensus Enhances, Rebrands its Small Business Retirement Offering“Today’s Launch of “Ascensus Essentials” adds 3(16) administrative fiduciary services and a new 401(k) solution featuring Vanguard investments Ascensus today unveiled an enhanced version of its CoPilot small business retirement offering, reintroduced it as Ascensus® Essentials.” MORE >>
Source: PLANADVISER
General Benefits
1 item“Americans answered less than half of basic financial literacy questions correctly, and younger generations performed even worse.” MORE >>
Source: JD Supra
Also of Note
- Providers See Managed Account Growth in Personalization — “Managed account providers argue that a key differentiator separating managed accounts from other defined contribution investment solutions is personalization, according to a recently published report by the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association’s Retirement Research Center, “Managed Accounts Today and Tomorrow: Industry Provider Perspectives.” (PLANADVISER)
- The Pensions Brief: August 2026 — “Regulations have been made setting out the finalised information-sharing requirements that will be imposed on schemes and personal representatives in connection with the changes to the inheritance tax (IHT) treatment of death benefits....” (JD Supra)
- Talking Points: 20 Years Later, Did the PPA Really Change Everything? — “However, to my eyes then — and now — the most lasting influence of the PPA was on the defined contribution side, where it helped change not just plan design, but the industry's thinking about participant behavior.” (American Retirement Association)
- Auto-IRAs Raise New Onboarding Questions for 401(k) Sponsors — “Auto-IRA programs are now being advanced in so-called red states too and total assets have been growing aggressively in these state programs.” (American Retirement Association)