The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
September 8, 2026
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5 items · ~2 min read
Top of the Brief
(Lack of) Standing Stymies (Yet Another) Pension Risk Transfer Suit“After a quick review of the standards of review in a motion to dismiss (Dolly Dow et al. v. Lumen Technologies Inc. et al., case number 1:24-cv-02434, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado), Judge Babcock turned to the issue of standing — explaining that, in order to bring suit, a plaintiff must show “(i) that he suffered an injury in fact that is concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent; (ii) that the injury was likely caused by the defendant; and (iii) that the injury would likely be redressed by judicial relief.” Judge Babcock then noted an argument put forward by the Lumen defendants (and defendants in other similar cases) that arose in a Supreme Court case invo”
In this issue
Retirement Plans (3) · Litigation (1) · General Benefits (1)
Retirement Plans
3 items“The Department of Labor’s 2026 proposed rule may be advertised as a safe harbor, but it is not a free pass. It emphasizes that ERISA prudence remains a process-based obligation and identifies performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, benchmarking and complexity as relevant considerations. The Department also repeats the longstanding requirement that a fiduciary consider relevant facts and circumstances and then act accordingly. A committee that checks six boxes without understanding how those risks interact may be creating a plaintiff’s exhibit, not a defense.” MORE >>
Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project
“Principal Financial Group has announced that it is expanding its “Featured Partner Program” to bring private markets into retirement plans. This is being marketed as broader diversification and better long-term retirement outcomes. I see something very different: Principal is building a distribution system that can add private equity on top of the private debt, illiquid private real estate, insurance separate accounts, annuity contracts and state-regulated collective investment trusts already found across its retirement platform.” MORE >>
Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project
“Shifted to Sept. 10 for 2026, PSCA’s annual event offers free resources and podcasts to help prompt employee 401(k) involvement While employees are already making record contributions to their workplace 401(k) plans, many have never taken the time to learn what’s going on with those investments. 401(k) Day, the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s annual recognition of the 401(k)’s ongoing success as the primary tool in American retirement planning, aims to empower those employees to be interested and confident in actively guiding their own workplace savings. Typically held the Friday after Labor Day, this year’s celebration, its 30th anniversary, will shift a day to Thursday, Sept. 10., out of” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
Litigation
1 item“After a quick review of the standards of review in a motion to dismiss (Dolly Dow et al. v. Lumen Technologies Inc. et al., case number 1:24-cv-02434, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado), Judge Babcock turned to the issue of standing — explaining that, in order to bring suit, a plaintiff must show “(i) that he suffered an injury in fact that is concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent; (ii) that the injury was likely caused by the defendant; and (iii) that the injury would likely be redressed by judicial relief.” Judge Babcock then noted an argument put forward by the Lumen defendants (and defendants in other similar cases) that arose in a Supreme Court case invo” MORE >>
Source: American Retirement Association
General Benefits
1 item“Experts from Groom Law Group and CAPTRUST answer questions concerning retirement plan administration and regulations.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR