The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
September 11, 2026
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8 items · ~2 min read
In this issue
Retirement Plans (4) · General Benefits (2) · Press Releases (2)
Retirement Plans
4 items“Many advisors and financial institutions keep asking if the disconnect between siloed 401(k) accounts and outside advice is a legal one, but Gomez said that is not the case. “The law does not prohibit participants from choosing and outside advisor or for an outside advisor providing that advice,” she explained. Moreover, if employees desire to have an independent advisor help offer investment guidance, employers should not have to face any fiduciary implications for those choices. “That is a decision that the employee, the worker, is making on their own, and it’s not the responsibility of the employer,” she added.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“Behind tens of thousands of suspicious form letters, serious academics, regulators and investor advocates exposed the fatal weaknesses in the Department of Labor’s private-equity safe harbor By Christopher Tobe The Department of Labor received more than 46,000 public submissions on its proposal to help Wall Street push private equity, private credit, cryptocurrency and other alternative investments into 401(k) plans.” MORE >>
Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project
“The index recorded the lowest monthly activity in the last 30 years, as trading reflected ongoing uncertainty related to interest rates and inflation.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
“According to data from PLANSPONSOR, pooled employer plans held $34 billion in assets at the end of 2025.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
General Benefits
2 items“Retirement plan sponsors are increasingly turning to advisers to help participants achieve their financial goals, according to a new study, with 93% of sponsors saying they work with an adviser to navigate plan design, investment decisions, and long-term retirement strategy.” MORE >>
Source: Employee Benefit News
“A newly launched States’ Unclaimed Retirement Clearing House (SURCH) may offer some relief. The program creates a centralized system through which plan sponsors and recordkeepers can voluntarily transfer certain unclaimed retirement distributions to participating state unclaimed property programs. Instead of dealing with dozens of different state processes, the clearinghouse serves as a single portal. Currently, dozens of states and the District of Columbia are participating.” MORE >>
Source: The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.
Press Releases
2 items[Retirement Plans]
Developing IRI: Add Retirement Security to Affordability Agenda“Guaranteed lifetime income and collective investment trusts for 403(b) plans are among proposals the Insured Retirement Institute wants added to the Democrats’ priorities.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
[Retirement Plans]
The Sorites Paradox and Pension Governance: When Does a Small Problem Become a Big One?“One outdated address doesn’t seem alarming. One participant who moved across state lines without notifying the plan isn’t unusual. One deceased participant who was not immediately identified may be an anomaly. Viewed individually, these are small issues. Understandable issues. The kinds of things every plan encounters from time to time. But pension risk rarely arrives all at once. It accumulates. One outdated record becomes ten. Ten becomes one hundred. One hundred becomes a systemic blind spot hiding in plain sight.” MORE >>
Source: NCPERS
Also of Note
- Participants’ Satisfaction With Digital Plan Experience Translates to Plan Asset Retention — “Plan participants said that their providers’ apps “significantly” outperformed their plan’s websites when considering design, system performance, tools and capabilities and information content, according to the study.” (PLANADVISER)
- August Saw Record Slow Trading in 401(k) Accounts, per Alight — “Average daily net activity was just 0.008% of balances—the lowest August reading across 30 years of available data —and total monthly transfers were 0.” (PLANADVISER)
- Participant Websites, Apps Influence Employer Plan Asset Retention — “JD Power found retirement plan mobile apps ‘significantly outperform’ websites.” (PLANSPONSOR)
- Prime Capital Financial Debuts Endowments and Foundations Practice — “Mark Hays will lead the new practice focused on investment management, impact strategy and governance support for small and mid-sized endowments and foundations Prime Capital Financial announced Tuesday the launch of a new Endowments and Foundations practice, with Mark Hays serving as its president.” (401(k) Specialist)
- The Market Has Put a Price on Apollo’s Conduct with Jeffrey Epstein. Public Pensions Should Finally Divest. — “The paper, “The Sponsor Premium,” by University of Chicago law professor Vincent Buccola and Drexel University finance professor Greg Nini, analyzes nearly 1,900 first-lien leveraged loans issued between 2016 and 2025.” (The Commonsense 401(k) Project)
- Income Lab Launches Tool to Optimize Client Withdrawals — “A new tool that helps advisors determine how to fund unexpected client cash needs was introduced today by Income Lab, a provider of financial planning and income distribution software for financial advisors.” (401(k) Specialist)
- 2026 Pension Lab: NextGen Competition Showcases New Solutions for Public Pension Funding — “Team 2 developed a multi-stage proposal aimed at improving Chicago’s pension outlook through greater transparency, stronger accountability measures, and targeted state action.” (NCPERS)