In today’s workplace, offering a 401(k) plan has become a standard part of employee benefits. But simply making a retirement plan available isn’t enough. For employees to truly take advantage of it, they need to understand how the plan works, why it matters and how to use it effectively. Many employees recognize that a 401(k) is designed for retirement savings, yet they often lack a deeper...
Form 5500 exists to create a single, annual public report on employee benefit plans. With filings made publicly available through the DOL, its core purpose is to contribute to broader transparency in the employee benefits system and protect plan participants and beneficiaries—and the public interest—from mismanagement, fraud, underfunding and related risks. In this way, regulators, researchers,...
Overpayments from qualified retirement plans to plan participants are among the most common—and most sensitive—administrative errors encountered by plan sponsors and fiduciaries. They often arise quietly: calculation mistakes, misapplied plan terms, delayed data updates or vendor processing errors. Once discovered, however, an overpayment demands immediate and careful attention. Left uncorrected...
May 2026 15th: Quarterly Benefit Statement: Deadline to supply participants of participant-directed plans with the quarterly benefit/disclosure statement, including a statement of plan fees and expenses charged to individual plan accounts during the first quarter of 2026. June 2026 30th: EACA ADP/ACP Corrections: Deadline to process corrective distributions resulting from failed ADP/ACP...
After three consecutive years of double-digit gains, U.S. equity markets stumbled in the first quarter of 2026, pressured by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, a sharp rise in energy prices, a reassessment of mega-cap technology valuations, and fading confidence in near-term Federal Reserve easing. The S&P 500 Index1 declined 4.6% during the quarter, as the outbreak of the...
Building on the momentum from the prior quarter, equity markets delivered another strong performance in Q3 2025, with all major U.S. indices posting robust gains and setting new record highs. The S&P 500 Index1 and Nasdaq Composite Index2 advanced by 7.8% and 11.2%, respectively, during the quarter, extending their year-to-date (through 9/30/25) gains to 13.7% and 17.3%. This continued rally...
On November 13, 2025, the IRS announced the Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) affecting the dollar limitations for retirement plans for 2026. In October, the Social Security Administration announced a modest benefit increase of 2.8%. Retirement plan limits also increased over the 2025 limits. COLA increases are intended to allow participant contributions and benefits to keep up with the “cost...
On September 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS issued final regulations implementing the Roth catch-up contribution requirement under the SECURE 2.0 Act. These rules will significantly impact how plan sponsors administer catch-up contributions for certain high-income participants starting in 2026. Key Takeaway for Plan Sponsors Beginning January 1, 2026, employees who are...
It’s that time of year again. A chill is in the air, football is on TV almost every night, and many are planning family holidays. It’s also time—if your plan has a December year end—to start thinking about your annual data request. You may wonder why we ask for this data at the end of every year. The bottom line is that we need the information to keep your plan in compliance and provide the best...
December 2025 1st: Participant Notices – Annual notices due for Safe Harbor elections (note that some plans are no longer required to distribute Safe Harbor notices), Qualified Default Investment Arrangement (QDIA), and Automatic Contribution Arrangements (EACA or QACA). 31st: ADP/ACP Corrections - Deadline for a plan to make ADP/ACP corrective distributions and/or deposit qualified...
After a challenging start to the quarter, marred by a tariff-induced sell-off in the first part of April, equity markets staged a remarkable turnaround in Q2 2025. After bottoming out on April 7th, both the S&P 500 Index1 and Nasdaq Composite Index rebounded strongly, surging by 28.3% and 37.8%, respectively, to close out the quarter, reaching new all-time highs in the process. This largely...
You may have been reading in the news about the recent uptick in ERISA class action lawsuits relating to the use of forfeitures. This article will be relevant to your plan if you have employer contributions and apply a vesting schedule to those funds. What is a Forfeiture? An Employer may design its retirement plan so that contributions it makes for its participants are subject to a vesting...
Uncashed distribution checks present a persistent and often overlooked challenge for retirement plan sponsors. Despite the best efforts of plan administrators, some participants fail to cash their distribution checks, leading to administrative burdens, fiduciary concerns and potential compliance issues. A recent publication by Retirement Management Services (RMS) sheds light on this issue and...
When a participant in a qualified retirement plan undergoes a divorce, the participant’s account balance may be an asset that is split with the former spouse. As the plan exists for the exclusive benefit of its participants, a court order is required to transfer the participant’s benefits to the ex-spouse. Once approved by the plan administrator, this court order is called a Qualified Domestic...
September 2025 15th: Required contribution to defined benefit plans, money purchase pension plans and target benefit pension plans. Contribution deadline for deducting 2024 employer contributions for those sponsors who filed an extension for Partnership or S-Corporation tax returns to extend the March 15, 2025, deadline. 15th: Due date for 2025 PBGC Comprehensive Premium Filing for defined...
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