The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans
June 21, 2026
— § —
5 items · ~2 min read
Expert Analysis
5 items“The OBBBA significantly expanded Section 4960's definition of "covered employee" to potentially cover all of an ATEO's employees – not just the top five highest-compensated. Until the proposed regulations are issued, the Notice provides interim guidance on the expansion of Section 4960's definition of "covered employee" under the OBBBA. ... The proposed regulations are expected to provide interpretive guidance on the post-OBBBA definition of "covered employee" and to propose exceptions from the expanded definition for employees with limited hours and employees compensated primarily from certain nonexempt funds, but not for employees providing limited services.” MORE >>
Source: Groom Law Group
In Roggenkamp v. Morgan Stanley Medical Plan, No. 24-7864, 2026 WL 1625357 (9th Cir. June 5, 2026), Plaintiff Roggenkamp sued the Morgan Stanley Medical Plan (“MS Plan”) under ERISA § 502(a), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a), to recover benefits after Cigna, the plan’s administrator, denied his pre-authorization request for a two-level artificial disc replacement surgery (“two-level ADR”). Following a bench trial, the district court entered judgment for the MS Plan, and Plaintiff appealed. The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part, and reversed and remanded in part. MORE >>
Source: Roberts Disability Law
“While private markets continue to make waves in retirement plans and long-term investment trends, semiliquid funds are gaining market share as well, but lag in defined contribution plan adoption.” MORE >>
Source: PLANADVISER
“I have expressed concern over Morningstar’s promotion of annuity products. https://commonsense401kproject.com/2026/01/27/morningstar-the-referee-who-designs-the-insurance-playbook/ Recently, Morningstar published an insurance industry-friendly report, “Evaluating Target-Date Strategies With Annuities” https://www.” MORE >>
Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project
“When a salesman can make a $15,000 commission selling a $200,000 indexed annuity, common sense tells you something is wrong. That money does not magically appear. It comes from hidden spreads, opaque options pricing, surrender charges, insurance company profits, and risks that most retirees never understand.” MORE >>
Source: The Commonsense 401(k) Project