The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
October 28, 2026
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10 items · ~3 min read
In this issue
Regulatory Action and Guidance (2) · Retirement Plans (5) · Litigation (1) · General Benefits (2)
Regulatory Action and Guidance
2 items“The IRS updated the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) and introduced the IRA Compliance Resolution System (ICRS), a new correction program for IRAs, which is modeled after EPCRS. EPCRS allows sponsors of qualified plans, section 403(b) plans, SEP arrangements, and SIMPLE IRA plans to correct failures and continue providing retirement benefits on a tax-favored basis.” MORE >>
Source: Haynes Boone
“On October 19, 2026, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) announced updated guarantee limits for single-employer defined benefit plans. PBGC insures private defined benefit plans against the risk of a failure to pay benefits when due, but only up to a maximum limit.” MORE >>
Source: Groom Law Group
Retirement Plans
5 items“Fifteen percent of insurers identified rising in-plan annuity adoption as a major future trend, up from 5% who saw it as a key trend over the next year.” MORE >>
Source: PLANSPONSOR
“The idea of Lifetime Income programs under defined contribution plans has become well accepted in the retirement plan community. There are numerous studies which show their value, from a retirement policy standpoint, and the attractiveness of those sorts of programs to both plan sponsors and plan participants.” MORE >>
Source: Business of Benefits
“With passage of the SECURE Act in 2019 and the SECURE 2.0 Act in 2022, 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors have been able, but not required, to provide participants with the ability to self-certify eligibility for certain withdrawals.” MORE >>
Source: Miller Canfield
“A recent Vanguard report found that a record 6% of eligible 401(k) participants took hardship withdrawals during 2025, up from 5% the year before and roughly three times the pre-pandemic rate. While the numbers are concerning, they shouldn’t surprise anyone.” MORE >>
Source: The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.
“Improved communication and better understanding of all the information auditors need can cut costs and limit regulatory risk during an annual plan audit, according to a principal from Sikich.” MORE >>
Source: PSCA
Litigation
1 item“The en banc Eleventh Circuit in Bolton v. Inland Fresh Seafood Corporation of America, Inc. overruled Mason v. Continental Group, Inc. “to the extent [Mason and its progeny] hold that ERISA itself requires exhaustion of statutory claims (including those alleging a breach of fiduciary duty).” The term “exhaustion” simply means that, before suing, a participant must first pursue the claim through the plan’s own internal claims and appeals process and give plan fiduciaries a chance to resolve it.” MORE >>
Source: Thompson Hine
General Benefits
2 items“Now, it is codified into ERISA as President Trump signed the RTOA into law on October 15. One more point of interest for ESOPs: EBSA maintains a priority list for investigations. Since the 1980s, ESOPs have been on that list and EBSA has taken a keen interest in investigating new ESOPs as soon as it learns of them (via annual report Form 5500 filing or otherwise). This year, ESOPs have been removed from that priority list.” MORE >>
Source: Bricker Graydon
“The second-annual Longevity Preparedness Index, released October 27 and created in conjunction with John Hancock and MIT’s AgeLab, once again shows that while Americans’ overall better health means longer lives, the plans necessary to financially support those extra years often remain unresolved—and represent a very real need for proactive work with retirement professionals and other community support. ... respondents who work with financial professionals scored a 67 on the index, compared to 58 for those who have not done so.” MORE >>
Source: 401(k) Specialist
Also of Note
- Modernization Without Disruption: A Practical Roadmap for Mid-Market Public Pension Plans — “Our recent research across public and quasi-public retirement organizations shows that modernization is being driven by practical priorities.” (NCPERS)