The Weekly Highlights for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
Week of October 16, 2026
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12 items · ~3 min read
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (8) · Retirement Plans (2) · Litigation (2)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
8 items“23, 2026 Hunan Province, China Ziwen Zhu Ziwen Zhu is speaking on the panel “How to Register Under Three Business Paths — Sales and Warehousing, Restaurant or Retail Operations, and Manufacturing Facilities: Entity Type, State of Formation, and Implications for L-1, Other Work Visas, and Business Visas,” during the 3rd Hunan Trade and Investment Promotion Global Strategic Partnership Conference on October 21, 2026.” MORE >>
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
The IRS is seeking public comment on an information collection request related to the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. This affects how companies document eligibility for this tax credit. MORE >>
Source: IRS
“Section 72(t)(2)(I)(viii) generally provides that the special rules in section 72(t)(2)(H)(vi)(II) (for qualified birth or adoption distributions) also apply for emergency personal expense distributions.” MORE >>
Source: IRS
“On October 9, 2026, Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González-Colón signed into law Act 204-2026 (“Act 204”), which, although framed as a fifth exception, clarifies that Article 24’s protections do not apply to a registered and authorized patient who: Three traits of the amendment bear mention. First, the statute says “such as” but does not define “safety-sensitive transportation functions.” Employers must thus rely, for now, on the examples provided and other applicable laws and regulations to piece together a definition. Second, the trigger is the function itself. Unlike the first four exceptions, this one does not require the employer to show a real threat, interference with job performance” MORE >>
Source: Littler
The Department of Labor is proposing an exemption to allow the GCI 401(k) Plan to continue holding certain stock rights, which would otherwise be prohibited under ERISA. MORE >>
Source: Federal Register
“The short version: December 31, 2026, is still an important date, but not every SECURE and SECURE 2.0 amendment is due then. For required amendments, the IRS Required Amendments List (RA List) plays an important role in determining deadlines. Generally, if a mandatory change in qualification requirements appears on the RA list, the amendment deadline is tied to the end of the second calendar year following the applicable RA List. ... Notice 2024-2 extended the deadline for SECURE and SECURE 2.0 discretionary amendments to December 31, 2026, with later deadlines for certain collective bargaining plans, governmental plans, and 403(b) plan maintained by public schools.” MORE >>
Source: Boutwell Fay
“By December 31, 2026, many single-employer retirement plans must make discretionary amendments related to the 2019 SECURE Act, a series of legislation enacted since then (the Acts) and related regulations, regardless of the applicable plan year end date. The December 31, 2026 deadline for discretionary amendments only applies to non-collectively bargained, non-governmental single-employer plans.” MORE >>
Source: DOL
Source: Federal Register
Retirement Plans
2 items“Many plans can keep benefit commencement at 70 1/2, but sponsors still need to adopt certain SECURE amendments before Dec. 31. SECURE Acts 1.0 and 2.0 which made several amendments to the way qualified plans operate, increased the age at which participants must begin receiving required minimum distributions (RMDs).” MORE >>
Source: HR Dive
“A recurring theme in research about retirement strategies is the outsized role of lifetime income to help retirees replicate the cash flow they once received in the form of regular paychecks. And while fears about coming up short on income and the challenges of finding retirement income solutions are prevalent among pre-retirees, getting them to take early action—or even decide what product is right for them—is a different matter, according to Cerulli Associates research released this week.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
Litigation
2 items“The grocery chain was ordered to pay $1.2 million out of the more than $9 million former employees sought.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
“A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on September 28 that Trader Joe’s Co. is not liable for claims it improperly used forfeited participant 401(k) funds and that it offered poorly performing investments in the retirement plan, but found it liable for having failed to monitor “grossly excessive” recordkeeping fees.” MORE >>
Source: Roberts Disability Law