The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
September 25, 2026
— § —
9 items · ~3 min read
Top of the Brief
Why Your Board May Need to Adopt Your SECURE 2.0 Amendment“However, one of the most common compliance issues that we see has nothing to do with the amendment's substance. Instead, it concerns whether the amendment was properly approved in the first place. Many plan sponsors are surprised to learn that adopting a retirement plan amendment is not simply an administrative exercise. A retirement plan is a corporate benefit program, and changing the terms of that program is a corporate act. Just as a company cannot enter into a significant contract or approve another major corporate action without the appropriate authority, it cannot amend its retirement plan unless the individual or group approving the amendment has the authority to act on behalf of the”
In this issue
Retirement Plans (3) · General Benefits (4) · Litigation (2)
Retirement Plans
3 items“Fintech company FIS announced Thursday that it had launched the latest version of its FIS Retirement Platform, built on a modernized, cloud-native architecture. It’s a system available to both retirement plan providers and third-party administrators of various sizes. The FIS Retirement Platform has been created to help give retirement plan providers a scalable, up-to-date recordkeeping foundation that has been built to provide both flexibility and opportunities for growth. And that’s an appropriate tool, the company explained, to help with achieving the objectives of SECURE 2.0, whose requirements for modernized retirement and benefits access for employees can present a challenge for older i” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
“About 76.2 million U.S. workers do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, according to recently updated analysis by the Economic Innovation Group, a public policy and economic advocacy group.” MORE >>
Source: PLANADVISER
[Regulatory Action and Guidance]
Why Your Board May Need to Adopt Your SECURE 2.0 Amendment“However, one of the most common compliance issues that we see has nothing to do with the amendment's substance. Instead, it concerns whether the amendment was properly approved in the first place. Many plan sponsors are surprised to learn that adopting a retirement plan amendment is not simply an administrative exercise. A retirement plan is a corporate benefit program, and changing the terms of that program is a corporate act. Just as a company cannot enter into a significant contract or approve another major corporate action without the appropriate authority, it cannot amend its retirement plan unless the individual or group approving the amendment has the authority to act on behalf of the” MORE >>
Source: Bricker Graydon
General Benefits
4 items“By: Carla Miller-James When analyzing benefit plan requirements , it is important for tax-exempt organizations that are part of a group of related employers to identify the correct “employer.” MORE >>
Source: Boutwell Fay
“When plan sponsors think about retirement plan risk, they often focus on dishonest employees, cybersecurity threats, or regulatory changes. In my experience, the most dangerous employee in a retirement plan is often none of those things.” MORE >>
Source: The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.
[Retirement Plans]
Trump Account Enrollment Lags Among Lower-Income Families: Study“Despite broad awareness, new study from nonprofit Commonwealth finds just 5% of eligible low- and moderate-income parents have opened a 530A account While the White House and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent say more than 7 million children have signed up for Trump Accounts as of late July and roughly 86% are from families earning less than $200,000, new research released today from national nonprofit Commonwealth finds only 5% of households living on low and moderate incomes (LMI) and eligible to open a 530A (Trump) Account have actually enrolled in the long-term investment accounts.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
[Retirement Plans]
NCPERS & CBIZ Survey Highlights Evolving Workforce Needs, Compensation Trends for Public Pensions“Expanded study provides compensation and workforce insights for 100 positions as pension organizations seek specialized talent in investments, technology, and cybersecurity. ... As a result, the 2026 survey now provides compensation and workforce data for 100 common positions across public pension organizations. “From investment staff to communications professionals, the people who work within public pension organizations play a critical role in providing retirement security for tens of millions of public servants,” said Hank Kim, CEO of NCPERS.” MORE >>
Source: NCPERS
Litigation
2 items“In Pover v. The Capital Group Cos. Inc. et al., Case Number 24-5298, a split panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed a California trial court’s denial of a motion to compel arbitration in a 401(k) self-dealing class action lawsuit against Capital Group. The court held that the provision in Capital Group’s retirement plan documents requiring dispute resolution outside the courtroom was unenforceable because it would nullify rights under ERISA.” MORE >>
Source: Hall Benefits Law
“The court held that when an employer first incurs partial withdrawal liability from a multiemployer pension plan and later triggers a second partial or a complete withdrawal, the credit from the first partial withdrawal must be applied against the employer’s final withdrawal liability after all statutory adjustments are made, including the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 (MPPAA)’s 20-year payment cap. The ruling can substantially reduce, and in some cases potentially eliminate, an employer’s withdrawal liability arising from a later withdrawal.” MORE >>
Source: Littler