The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
August 28, 2026
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13 items · ~5 min read
Top of the Brief
IRS proposes changes to minimum funding rules for single-employer defined benefit plans“If a service provider’s fees are expected to be $5,000 or more and consist of both investment-related expenses and expenses for other services, only fees itemized by the service provider as being related to the investment of the plan’s assets are treated as investment-related expenses. Amounts itemized for other services, such as recordkeeping or custodial/trustee services, are not treated as investment-related expenses. If total payments to a service provider are expected to be less than $5,000, the proposed regulation treats all payments as investment-related expenses and the provider does not need to itemize them. The proposed regulations generally provide additional flexibility in the ti”
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (2) · Retirement Plans (8) · General Benefits (2) · Litigation (1)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
2 items“If a service provider’s fees are expected to be $5,000 or more and consist of both investment-related expenses and expenses for other services, only fees itemized by the service provider as being related to the investment of the plan’s assets are treated as investment-related expenses. Amounts itemized for other services, such as recordkeeping or custodial/trustee services, are not treated as investment-related expenses. If total payments to a service provider are expected to be less than $5,000, the proposed regulation treats all payments as investment-related expenses and the provider does not need to itemize them. The proposed regulations generally provide additional flexibility in the ti” MORE >>
Source: Milliman
“The guidance applies to qualified defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans, including 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, governmental 457(b) plans, simplified employee pension (SEP) plans, SIMPLE IRAs, and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) (excluding IRA-to-IRA rollovers). Section 324 of the SECURE 2.0 Act directs the Secretary of the Treasury, or their delegate, to issue guidance to “simplify, standardize, facilitate, and expedite the completion of rollovers to eligible retirement plans.” Guidance through sample forms and related procedures must be easily understood by the average person and be accessible by both the plan sending the funds (distributing plans) and the plan rece” MORE >>
Source: Milliman
Retirement Plans
8 items“By: Milton Heber Plan sponsors of qualified defined contribution plans such as 401(k) plans must update their pre-approved plans every six years to reflect law changes and to maintain their “pre-approved” status with the IRS.” MORE >>
Source: Boutwell Fay
“The middle class must be able to afford everyday life, have income to save, and have meaningful employment. The American Middle Class: Influences of Gender on Retirement Security identifies the challenges facing those who make between $50,000 and $200,000. Despite their moderate incomes and relative financial stability, the TCRS study found that middle-class workers expect to live and work longer, and are beginning to understand the implications of that longevity.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“To help ease both plan sponsors and financial advisors into the private market arena, Principal Financial Group on Wednesday announced an expansion of its Principal Featured Partner Program to support additional, fiduciary approved private market strategies within the retirement plan space. That coincides with the launch of a new suite of collective investment trusts (CITs) that will combine both public and private strategies with Principal’s existing management services and expertise, to help those interested in wading into the promising but sometimes complex world of private equity.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“The blog post by Kris Nguyen, Director of Education, Workforce and Income Security at GAO, explains that the Department of Labor (DOL) issued cybersecurity guidance in 2021 on retirement plans’ use of participant data, but didn’t specify what participant information should be considered private. She did note that the 2021 guidance says that plan sponsors should “clearly address” service providers’ obligation to keep private information private, and that plan sponsors should prevent the use or disclosure of information without written permission, but added that it did not provide information about when service providers should get written permission. Consequently, Nguyen pointed to the report” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
“On Oct. 18, PBGC announced that the maximum guaranteed benefit at age 65 for terminating plans will rise to $89,181 in 2025 from $85,295 in 2024. This amount is determined using the Social Security “old law” contribution and benefit base (see Social Security and SSI amounts). The maximum guaranteed benefit is adjusted if benefit payments start before (or after) age 65 or are paid in a form other than a single-life annuity. Some of the guaranteed amount may be paid from the plan’s assets, and participants may receive more if the plan is better funded or if PBGC can recover other amounts from the plan sponsor. *Not indexed after 2023 On Nov. 4, PBGC published the 2025 present value of the maxi” MORE >>
Source: Mercer
“As of July 31, 2026, the Milliman 100 Pension Funding Index (PFI), which analyzes the 100 largest defined benefit (DB) plans sponsored by U.S. public companies, reported an aggregate funded ratio of 112.1%. With combined plan assets of $1.296 trillion against $1.156 trillion in projected benefit obligations, that amounts to a funded status surplus of $139 billion, up $64 billion from the 106.1% funded ratio at which plans began 2026. Two factors have driven this improvement: strong investment performance, including a 4.81% return in the second quarter of 2026 alone, and discount rates that have risen 56 basis points since January 2026, from 5.46% to 6.02%.” MORE >>
Source: Milliman
“Research found managed-account users contribute 1.2 to 2.3 percentage points more than non-users across age groups.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
“Public pension plans during July follow same pattern as June: Slightly negative investment return of -0.1% contributes to $38 billion decrease in the funded status for largest U.S. public pension plans July market declines combined with an increase in liabilities—the same pattern observed during June—to reduce the funded status of the 100 largest U.S. public pension plans, as measured by the Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI). As of July 31, 2026, the PPFI plans were 88.2% funded, down from 88.7% as of June 30, 2026. We have projected the aggregate funded status forward from July 31, 2026, to July 31, 2027, under three scenarios. The baseline scenario assumes each plan’s future” MORE >>
Source: Milliman
General Benefits
2 items“A separate 2026 Financial Finesse Research Review suggested that digital financial wellness programs can also be associated with measurable changes in retirement-saving behavior, even when the program does not include a human financial coach. Using engagement data from its Financial Wellness Think Tank across employer clients from 2024 through 2026, Financial Finesse found that employees who engaged with a virtual financial wellness benefit had an 8% 401(k) opt-out rate the following year, compared with 11% among employees who did not engage. That represented a 32% lower opt-out rate among employees who engaged with the benefit. The research also found changes in investment allocation and em” MORE >>
Source: PLANADVISER
"The August Monthly Minute reminds plan sponsors of the upcoming SECURE 2.0 plan amendment deadline and highlights a 4th Circuit decision reflecting the litigation impact of a delayed ERISA appeal determination." MORE >>
Source: JD Supra
Litigation
1 item“A Minnesota federal court has again dismissed a proposed class action under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Former worker Thomas Matula accused Wells Fargo of improperly using forfeited funds from its 401(k) plan. The case is Matula v. Wells Fargo & Co. et al., Case Number 0:24-cv-03703, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Matula originally filed suit in June 2024. The ex-worker claimed that Wells Fargo used forfeited funds from its 401(k) plan to offset its contributions to participant accounts instead of paying for plan expenses borne by the participants.” MORE >>
Source: Hall Benefits Law