The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals

BenefitsWire

Retirement Plans

October 6, 2026

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12 items · ~2 min read

In this issue

Regulatory Action and Guidance (2) · Retirement Plans (3) · Litigation (5) · General Benefits (2)

Regulatory Action and Guidance

2 items

Developing Federal Scholarship Tax Credit

Temporary regulations were issued for a new federal tax credit for qualified contributions to scholarship organizations, effective for 2027 and later. This affects benefits professionals by potentially influencing employer-sponsored educational assistance programs and related tax planning. MORE >>

Source: Federal Register

Developing Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Trump Account Election(s)

“Notice on public inspection, scheduled to publish 2026-10-07.” MORE >>

Source: FDA

Retirement Plans

3 items

Amin and Dold Discuss Trump Account Auto-Enrollment with Bloomberg Law

“Groom principals Katie Bjornstad Amin and Elizabeth Thomas Dold were quoted in Bloomberg Law’s “Trump Accounts Auto-Enroll Success Hinges on Parents’ Key Step,” discussing the Treasury Department’s new automatic enrollment process for Trump Accounts and the implementation challenges that may accompany the expansion.” MORE >>

Source: PLANSPONSOR

ERISA 403(b) Employer Contributions More Than Doubled From 2009 to 2023

“Plan costs declined by 23 basis points over the same period.” MORE >>

Source: PLANSPONSOR

Transamerica Celebrates 25 Years of PEP Service

“Popularity of pooled employer plans continues to grow, with more employers perceiving benefits and simplicity of shared management Transamerica is marking a quarter century providing pooled plans as specialized retirement benefits for individual employers.” MORE >>

Source: Foley & Lardner

Litigation

5 items

AT&T’s Athene Pension Transfer: State Street Must Answer—But the Sponsor Gets Out

“By Christopher B. Tobe | The CommonSense 401k Project Some accountability has survived in the AT&T pension risk transfer litigation. On September 28, 2026, Judge Nathaniel Gorton dismissed the claims against AT&T while allowing a prudence claim against State Street to proceed.” MORE >>

Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project

Can an ERISA Section 510 Retaliation Claim Be Forced into Arbitration? A Texas Court Says Yes, Even with a Benefits Carve-Out

“66 Franklin Street, Suite 300 Oakland, CA 94607 In Hawkins v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 3:26-cv-00026, 2026 WL 2905988 (S.D. Tex. Sept.” MORE >>

Source: Roberts Disability Law

Intel’s 401(k) Case: Will the Supreme Court Choose Transparency and Accountability—or Enrich the Private Equity Industry?

“By Christopher B. Tobe — The CommonSense 401k Project On Tuesday, October 6, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Anderson v. Intel Corporation Investment Policy Committee.” MORE >>

Source: Foley & Lardner

DeMario Carswell Quoted on Trader Joe's 401(k) Fee Litigation

“Ignites 10.02.2026 DeMario Carswell discussed the significance of a federal court ruling ordering Trader Joe's to pay more than $1.1 million to participants in its 401(k) plan after finding that plan fiduciaries failed to adequately monitor recordkeeping fees.” MORE >>

Source: Miller & Chevalier

U.S. District Court Vacates in Full a Nearly $50 Million Arbitration Award Against Client OptumRx

“Firm News | October 5, 2026 On October 2, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division unsealed a rare order vacating in full a nearly $50 million arbitration award against a Gibson Dunn client.” MORE >>

Source: Gibson Dunn

General Benefits

2 items

Who Needs a ‘Meaningful Benchmark,’ Anyway?

“Jack Towarnicky says as most law school students learn in Contracts 1: "It Depends!" as Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Anderson v. Intel case Tuesday Tomorrow, Intel returns to the U.” MORE >>

Source: 401(k) Specialist

How Can Plan Sponsors File Plan Tax Forms With the IRS?

“Experts from Groom Law Group and CAPTRUST answer questions concerning retirement plan administration and regulations.” MORE >>

Source: Groom Law Group