The Department of Labor (DOL or the Department) recently announced its 2026 national enforcement projects, signaling changes in the administration’s enforcement priorities for this fiscal year. The Department identified priorities both with respect to health and welfare plans and retirement plans, as well as cybersecurity, although the Department has clearly shifted significant resources to health
Since the first quarter of 2024, 10 plan sponsors (along with named and independent fiduciaries) have been sued in 13 putative class actions challenging pension risk transfers (PRTs), which are transfers to insurance companies of a portion or all of a defined benefit pension plan’s liabilities through the purchase of a group annuity contract. Generally
Enacted into law as part of the 2025 budget reconciliation act and as initially described in an earlier Thompson Hine blog post, Trump accounts will provide a new private savings vehicle for the exclusive benefit of eligible minor children. The IRS recently issued Notice 2025-68 to provide additional detail on Trump accounts while proposed
On November 4, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island in Williams v. Bally’s Management Group, LLC dismissed a participant challenge to an employer’s tobacco surcharge under ERISA, rejecting both statutory discrimination and fiduciary breach theories. The court held that the plaintiff failed to state a claim that the surcharge violated
Prudent appointment and monitoring of Russell Investments Trust Company (“Russell”) as an ERISA section 3(38) investment manager by the 401(k) Plan Committee (“Committee”) for the Caesars Entertainment Corporation Savings & Retirement Plan (“Plan”) recently paid dividends for the Committee and the plan sponsor, Caesars Holdings, Inc. (“Caesars”)
2. Courts Differ On What Is Required To Support Fiduciary Breach Claims
The IRS has issued long-awaited final regulations regarding the requirement included in the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 that catch-up contributions made during a plan year under a 401(k) or 403(b) plan by participants with FICA wages from the employer sponsoring the plan during the prior calendar year that exceed a specified dollar amount may
With a potential government shutdown as early as October 1, plan sponsors and fiduciaries should be aware of how a lapse in federal funding could affect both retirement and health and welfare plan operations, IRS filings, and regulatory oversight of plans. While some government functions are expected to continue during a shutdown, others may be
On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (“Order”) directing the Department of Labor (“Department”) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to, no later than February 3, 2026, issue rules or guidance – potentially including a safe harbor – intended to encourage the inclusion of alternative assets, such as private equity, cryptocurrency
The Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration recently issued Pooled Employer Plans: Big Plans for Small Businesses, which contains interpretive guidance that seeks to encourage the establishment and adoption of pooled employer plans (“PEPs”) by demonstrating how DOL currently believes that PEPs can minimize employers’ fiduciary risks. The