The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
September 18, 2026
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12 items · ~4 min read
Top of the Brief
IRS Explains Deadlines for Required, Discretionary Plan Amendments“Due dates for certain plan document amendments related to the SECURE and SECURE 2.0 Acts are extended beyond year-end 2026.”
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (2) · Retirement Plans (8) · General Benefits (2)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
2 items“Due dates for certain plan document amendments related to the SECURE and SECURE 2.0 Acts are extended beyond year-end 2026.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
"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
8 items“Employers seeking more efficient ways to offer retirement benefits are taking a closer look at group retirement plans like Multiple Employer Plans (MEPs) and Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs).1 These arrangements can help ease administrative burdens, offer fiduciary and investment support, and provide access to plan features that may be difficult to deliver on their own. A capital preservation option can strengthen any investment lineup — including group plans. It is designed to provide stability during volatile markets, manage short-term liquidity, and help participants stay invested with confidence.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“Company-wide initiative sees employee certification and deeper integration of AI tools to help benefit clients and add a competitive advantage Voya Financial has announced a more widespread integration of artificial intelligence tools in its broader retirement and investment management operations.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“Nationwide and Nestimate announced a new partnership today which will provide Nationwide’s Retirement Solutions business with an objective due diligence tool to support intermediaries evaluating both target-date funds and lifetime income solutions. Through this collaboration, retirement plan advisors can reach out to their Nationwide representative to run Nestimate’s reporting, enabling them to work directly with plan sponsor clients to evaluate the suitability of TDFs and lifetime income solutions.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 for the first time allowed employers to match eligible employee payments on student loans. A senior benefits manager at eBay previously said it was “kind of a no-brainer” for the company to offer matching funds after the act’s passage. The company already budgeted for all employees to get the full matching contribution in their retirement plans and had a 96% participation rate, meaning the new offering wasn’t a big expense. “For employees working to pay down student loan debt while also trying to prepare for retirement, access to an employer match can make a meaningful difference,” said Laurel Taylor, founder and CEO of financial wellness company Candidly, which he” MORE >>
Source: HR Dive
“New NFP research finds 72% of workers are behind on retirement as rising costs, competing priorities, and financial stress make saving harder. Alternative retirement options are growing in popularity as employees reject traditional, more rigid, plans. Hinge Health added migraine care to its digital offerings, enabling organizations to support those who suffer from the debilitating condition. Supplemental benefits help lighten the load for women who lack adequate support while shouldering a disproportionate share of caregiving responsibilities.” MORE >>
Source: Employee Benefit News
“Only 40% of plan participants surveyed knew exactly how their retirement savings were invested.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
“Just hours before the House of Representatives adjourned earlier than expected for its midterm recess on Wednesday evening, it approved a bill meant to provide legal clarity and stability to employee stock ownership plans.” MORE >>
Source: PLANADVISER
“Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is moving rapidly from evaluation to execution, expectations are for private asset implementation in DC plans, and there is a growing emphasis on pairing advice and personalization to support participants as their retirement needs become more complex. These are three key trends identified in T. Rowe Price’s sixth annual Defined Contribution (DC) Consultant Study, released Wednesday. The research captures perspectives from three dozen leading consultant and advisory firms on key retirement trends representing more than 160,000 DC plan sponsor clients and $10.3 trillion in DC plan assets under advisement, reflecting approximately 72% of the total DC plan m” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
General Benefits
2 items[Retirement Plans]
Nonqualified deferred compensation plans: 5 tips to get the most out of your plan ahead of open enrollment“Nonqualified deferred compensation, or NQDC, can play an important role for that demographic — especially after a significant liquidity event like an IPO. This benefit allows eligible employees, typically executives and high earners, to defer a portion of their income and determine, at the time of the deferral election, when that income is paid out and taxed, for instance in retirement, when they drop down in income bracket.” MORE >>
Source: Employee Benefit News
[Retirement Plans]
Schwab Teams with Anthropic to Bring Claude AI to 16,000 RIAs“Schwab Advisor Services—Charles Schwab’s business supporting the growth and success of independent registered investment advisors (RIAs)—announced Monday at the FutureProof Festival in Huntington Beach, Calif., that it is working with Anthropic to bring Claude for Financial Advisors directly to the 16,000-plus independent RIAs Schwab serves. “Bringing this solution directly to our clients, purpose-built for the environment they operate in, is how we help advisors claim the next frontier of advice.” The setting seemed appropriate for such an announcement, as the all-outdoor FutureProof Festival, billed as the largest annual event for RIAs, is taking a deep dive this week into what event organ” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist