"While the proposal introduces a more defined framework for evaluating prudence, it does not lower the fiduciary standard. In several respects, it may raise expectations by making the elements of a prudent process more explicit.... [1] A higher bar for documented process ... [2] A false sense of security around the safe harbor ... [3] Increased complexity in investment decisions ... [4] Misalignment between selection and monitoring ... [5] Litigation will likely evolve, not disappear ... Taken together, these risks point to a common theme: greater clarity is likely to bring greater accountability in practice." MORE >>
"The plaintiffs ... filed a petition in April requesting an en banc hearing in the case, following the March decision by a three-judge panel rejecting class certification. The panel ruled that the plaintiffs' claims were too individualized to proceed as a mandatory class action." [Trauernicht v. Genworth Fin. Inc., No. 24-1880 (4th Cir. Mar. 10, 2026; rehearing denied Jun. 4, 2026)] MORE >>
"The final rule requires plans and issuers to register in a new federal IDR registry, use standardized claim adjustment reason codes and remittance advice remark codes on remittance advice, and participate in a restructured 30-day open negotiation process conducted through the federal IDR portal[.]" MORE >>
"Employer group health plan fiduciaries should continue to monitor IDR activity for their health plans and analyze reporting from their TPAs on IDR disputes involving the plan. Because of the significantly reduced administrative fee, fiduciaries should examine their TPA agreements and make sure the pricing is consistent with the lower amount.... [F]iduciaries should prepare for the new registration requirement, working with their TPAs to ensure timely compliance once the registry becomes available." MORE >>
"MetLife agreed to a $23 million settlement to end a nearly eight-year legal dispute ... [P]laintiffs questioned how MetLife's pension plan calculated the value of joint and survivor annuity payments compared with single annuity payments under both the current and old versions of the plan ... [T]he complaint argued that MetLife used mortality tables from the 1970s and 1980s to make these calculations." [Masten v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., No. 18-11229 (S.D.N.Y. Jun. 14, 2021)] MORE >>
"For years, insurers and some plan consultants have marketed general account fixed annuities as 'stable value' or 'capital preservation' investments. But the Phoenix collapse again demonstrates that policyholders are not simply investing in a conservative bond portfolio. They are becoming unsecured creditors of a leveraged insurance company whose liabilities can become frozen during periods of financial distress." [Nietz v. LPL Financial LLC, No. 26-3383 (S.D. Calif. complaint filed Jun. 3, 2026)] MORE >>
"Virginia previously required PSL only for home health workers. SB 199/HB 5 significantly expands coverage to nearly all employees in the Commonwealth." MORE >>
"The New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA) is expanding in July 2026 ... [1] Employers with 15 to 30 employees will be covered by the law for the first time; [2] The minimum employment period prior to leave will be lowered from 12 months to 3 months; and [3] The required hours worked in the year prior to leave will be lowered from 1,000 to 250." MORE >>
16 pages. "[M]anaged accounts can improve retirement outcomes across a wide range of plan environments. Their impact is largest when participant behavior is less influenced by plan design, such as in plans with lower default contribution rates, no auto-escalation, and greater reliance on individual decision-making. In more structured plans, managed accounts still provide value, but the incremental opportunity is generally smaller because automatic features already place many participants on stronger savings trajectories. Rather than asking only whether managed accounts add value, plan sponsors may want to ask where they add the most value and how they should be deployed. This analysis provides a practical framework for answering that question." MORE >>
"Getting to this 'properly structured and regulated' system of converting savings to income does require a bit of Zigging Down the Zag (Dr. Seuss), especially when we are trying to do it in a system designed to simply accumulate savings.... Deconstructing things like CITs, target date funds and annuities and reconfiguring them -- within regulatory bonds, of course -- to try to effectively pull off the policy initiatives is a fascinating (and workable) task, which will serve us well going forward. These sorts of efforts are well beyond the ken of existing AI systems." MORE >>
"An employee with a long disciplinary history asked his HR contact how to request FMLA leave and was fired about two weeks later. The Sixth Circuit held that requesting FMLA paperwork is protected activity ... Temporal proximity alone wasn't enough. Two weeks between the FMLA inquiry and termination can support a prima facie inference of retaliation, but the court made clear it can't carry the pretext showing on its own." [Paris v. MacAllister Machiney Company, Inc., No. 25-1726 (6th Cir. May 14, 2026)] MORE >>
"EPIC is projecting health plan trend to be between 7.5% [and] 9.5% again this year.... Employers are digging into where dollars are being spent without delivering real value which may be overlapping condition management solutions, misaligned incentives, unmanaged site‑of‑care utilization, or programs that sound promising but fail to reduce risk or trend. Instead of adding more solutions, the focus is shifting to making sure the right ones are in place and that every dollar spent has a purpose." MORE >>
"If the Federal Reserve does manage to hit its long-term target of 2% annual inflation ... 44% of the spending power would be wiped out in 30 years. But 10% annual inflation would wipe out over 96% of that spending power.... If inflation is high, the value of the longevity protection is virtually wiped out.... If one can afford to buy an insurance annuity either within a target-date fund or otherwise, then they can use the funds to delay Social Security. If one wants more than Social Security can provide at age 70, a TIPS ladder is superior to an insurance annuity." MORE >>
"Today, the retirement industry insists that if a product is somehow legal under lax state insurance rules or state banking laws and has a vague, weak ERISA exemption, then it somehow belongs inside a 401(k) plan. ... A much better test is this: Could the product survive inside a fully transparent, federally regulated, SEC-registered mutual fund subject to daily fair-value accounting? If the answer is no, fiduciaries should immediately ask why.... [T]he best historical example may be stable value itself." MORE >>
"Voice has become a major fraud risk as deepfakes, voice cloning, and social engineering make traditional call center verification methods easier to bypass. Knowledge-based authentication is no longer enough – a layered approach is needed to ensure voice-based attacks do not negatively impact the member experience." MORE >>
"This In Focus examines [IRS] tax return data on HSA contributions to assess how HSA contribution amounts vary by source and adjusted gross income (AGI). These trends may inform congressional consideration of proposals to modify HSA eligibility, contribution limits, or the tax treatment of contributions. These data are available at the tax return level: a return can represent one or multiple individuals if the return is filed jointly with a spouse or includes dependents." [IF13244 Jun. 5, 2026] MORE >>
"Employers have begun enrollment in Minnesota's Secure Choice Retirement Program according to a phased schedule with the first deadline on June 30, 2026. All Minnesota employers with five or more employees that do not offer a retirement plan will be required to facilitate this state program for employees via payroll contributions. Employees are automatically enrolled in the 5 percent contribution unless they affirmatively opt out. Minnesota employers that already have a retirement plan must file for an exemption." MORE >>
"For some plans, alternatives may offer meaningful diversification and long-term benefits when implemented carefully. For others, the added complexity, liquidity considerations, or cost may outweigh those potential advantages. Much depends on the plan's participant base, investment objectives, and governance structure.... ERISA continues to serve as the guardrail that ensures participant interests remain paramount." MORE >>
"The final rule aims to make improvements, particularly related to communications among group health plans and insurers, providers, and facilities with the certified IDR entities. The final rule includes varying applicability dates ranging from August 3, 2026, the effective date of the regulation, to 90 days after the effective date, depending on the specific provision. Final Rule on Independent Dispute Resolution Operations Share this page While the final rule is intended to improve IDR operations, it does not address other challenges." MORE >>
"[P]rivate equity products differ fundamentally from traditional mutual funds and public securities. They involve limited transparency, subjective valuation, conditional liquidity, complex fee structures, leverage, and performance reporting methodologies that are often not comparable to public-market investments.... This checklist is designed to help ERISA fiduciaries identify hidden risks, conflicts, prohibited transaction concerns, and misleading performance claims before adding private-market exposure to participant-directed retirement plans." MORE >>
"[ICI] found that though rollovers are driving IRA growth, participants prefer to seek rollover advice from professional advisors rather than their employer.... 64% said they consulted an advisor, 45% a financial service firm, and 35% consulted their employer which included written materials produced or made available by their employer. 35% also consulted their spouse or partner." MORE >>
"HHS and plan sponsor Star Group (SG) reached an agreement to resolve alleged HIPAA violations related to Star Group’s health plan, imposing $245,000 in fines and an extensive corrective action plan. The two-year corrective action plan will require the health plan to conduct a comprehensive HIPAA data security risk analysis, update training materials, and make annual reports to HHS. This enforcement action emphasizes the need for employers to prioritize security measures for health plan protected health information (PHI) and electronic protected health information (ePHI), as ransomware incidents can trigger government scrutiny and potential penalties under HIPAA." MORE >>
"The 401(k) record-keeping business is at a major crossroad. On the one hand, plan fees continue to decline, which, coupled with rising demand for service and costs, seems untenable. On the other hand, the opportunity to offer wealth services to the over 100 million active participants, either alone or in partnership with advisors, is immense." MORE >>
"[As] TrumpIRA.gov involves neither actual delivery of a retirement savings platform nor any sort of integration with payroll providers, and participation will be voluntary, whether the program will act to increase savings or long-term wealth for individuals is yet to be determined." MORE >>
"Cigna informed Plaintiff that it was denying coverage ... citing only its internal Medical Coverage Policy No. 0104 (MCP), a non-plan document ... The Ninth Circuit held that this was an improper post-hoc rationalization, because Cigna had relied only on the MCP during the administrative process, and the MCP and SPD are meaningfully different documents. A court may not affirm a denial on a rationale the administrator did not assert during the administrative process, as doing so deprives the claimant of the opportunity to respond and of the statutory right to full and fair review." [Roggenkamp v. Morgan Stanley Medical Plan, No. 24-7864 (9th Cir. June 5, 2026; unpub.)] MORE >>
