The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
September 9, 2026
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6 items · ~2 min read
Top of the Brief
Plan Sponsors Put Growing Trust in Retirement Plan Advisors: Fidelity“Findings in new Plan Sponsor Attitudes Study underscore growing importance of advisor expertise as sponsors seek to address evolving participant needs and an increasingly complex retirement landscape Good news for retirement plan advisors today in that plan sponsors are expressing growing satisfaction in both their retirement plans and the advisors supporting them, according to findings released today from Fidelity Investments’ 17th annual proprietary Plan Sponsor Attitudes Study.”
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (1) · Retirement Plans (2) · Litigation (1) · General Benefits (2)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
1 item"On August 11, 2026, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and Department of Treasury (the “Department”) released proposed regulations governing employer contributions to Trump Accounts (“TAs”) and long-awaited nondiscrimination guidance regarding Dependent Care Assistance Programs (“DCAPs”). The rules establish the operational framework for Trump Account employer contribution programs (“TACPs”) while also clarifying DCAP and TACP nondiscrimination testing requirements. Although the rules are in proposed form, plan sponsors may rely on the guidance when implementing TACPs and performing nondiscrimination testing until the regulations are finalized." MORE >>
Source: Trucker Huss
Retirement Plans
2 items[General Benefits]
Plan Sponsors Put Growing Trust in Retirement Plan Advisors: Fidelity“Findings in new Plan Sponsor Attitudes Study underscore growing importance of advisor expertise as sponsors seek to address evolving participant needs and an increasingly complex retirement landscape Good news for retirement plan advisors today in that plan sponsors are expressing growing satisfaction in both their retirement plans and the advisors supporting them, according to findings released today from Fidelity Investments’ 17th annual proprietary Plan Sponsor Attitudes Study.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
[General Benefits]
Middle-Income Workers Benefit Most from 401(k) Tax Advantages: ARA“According to Hidden in Plain Sight, an ARA economic study released Tuesday, when factors such as employer contributions and the benefits of tax-deferred investment growth are considered, it is employees in the $50,000 to $100,000 annual income bracket who receive the biggest boost from their 401(k)s, relative to the taxes they pay. Those workers pay only 9.1% of federal income taxes, but receive more than 30% of retirement tax benefits.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
Litigation
1 item“The lawsuit challenges the PBGC’s position that terminated MEPPs are ineligible for the program. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected that interpretation in Board of Trustees of the Bakery Drivers Loc. 550 v. Pension Benefit Guar. Corp., and the Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari. All 22 MEPPs that brought suit have already terminated and are located outside the Second Circuit (whose jurisdiction includes New York, Connecticut, and Vermont).” MORE >>
Source: Jackson Lewis (Benefits Law Advisor)
General Benefits
2 items[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
My SEC Comment Opposing Repeal of the Pay-to-Play Rule for Public Pensions“I have submitted a formal comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission opposing the proposed rescission of Investment Advisers Act Rule 206(4)-5, the federal pay-to-play rule governing investment advisers that seek or hold state and local government business. The SEC’s September 3, 2026 proposal would remove the rule’s two-year compensation timeout following certain covered political contributions. It would also eliminate Rule 204-2(a)(18), which requires covered registered advisers to preserve specified records concerning associates, government clients, contributions, political action committees and paid solicitors.” MORE >>
Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project
“Tacit in the language of the DOL’s proposed prudence safe harbor requirement that a fiduciary “read and critically review” the investment documents supporting a broad range of often commonplace DC investments is, I would think, the implication that the documents provided to fiduciary should, indeed, be “readable.” There are really two different types of challenges facing the fiduciary related to readability of investment documents which purveyors of DC plan investments really do need to address, even without a plan’s use of alternative investments. The first challenge is that the fiduciary will now need to actually read and understand the impact of the investments’ terms, especially in insta” MORE >>
Source: Business of Benefits