Discover how the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) helps sponsors fix retirement plan errors, maintain tax-favored status, and comply with IRS SECURE 2.0 updates.

Misclassifying even a small portion of your workforce can create numerous tax and other risks for employers, including with respect to employee benefit plans. Sherrie Boutwell will be presenting on a panel for BARBRI regarding how misclassification of employees as independent contractors can adversely affect employee benefit plans, including tips for mitigating these risks. Hope you can join us!

As employer-sponsored health and welfare plans grow more complex, transparency rules abound, new health and welfare plan fee disclosure rules take effect, and class action lawsuits increase (see our recent blog posts regarding voluntary benefits litigation and tobacco cessation program litigation), the need for structured oversight becomes critical. While ERISA doesn’t mandate fiduciary committees for these plans, forming one may be a smart move for plan sponsors. 

Last month, the Treasury Department and IRS (the “Agencies”) released Announcement 2026-7, stating that they anticipate future regulations finalizing certain portions of the 2024 proposed regulations governing required minimum distributions under Code Section 401(a)(9) (“RMDs”) to take effect no earlier than 2027. Before this announcement, these regulations were anticipated to take effect in the 2026 distribution calendar year.

Plan administrators of qualified plans, 403(b) plans, and governmental 457(b) plans are required under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) §402(f) to provide a written explanation regarding eligible rollover distributions (sometimes called a “special tax notice”) to participants 30-180 days before making an eligible rollover distribution.  The IRS issued Notice 2026-13 on January 15, 2026 to update the information required to be in the special tax notice for recent law changes, inclu

On Sunday, February 8, 2026, over 100 million people watched the Super Bowl—and many may have been introduced to Trump Accounts (“Accounts”) for the first time. A 30-second commercial stated, “this year every American child gets an investment account” with millions of dollars being pre-funded. The promise of giving kids “free money” surely piqued the interest of children and parents alike. Employers, however, are not all rushing to incorporate Accounts into the suite of benef

Buried in the new federal law governing Pharmacy Benefit Managers, (which is generally effective beginning in 2028) is a broad expansion of the group of “covered service providers” who are required to provide written fee disclosures to health plan fiduciaries and a mandate that health plan fiduciaries collect such disclosures.  Although the effective date of the new provision is not clear, it could be effective as early as the date the new law went into effect— February 3, 20

Join Sherrie Boutwell and Evan Giller of Boutwell Fay, LLP as they discuss "How to Fix Your Retirement Plan When Something Breaks” at the 2026 NBOA Annual Meeting & Business Solutions Showcase in Orlando, FL. Where: 2026 NBOA Annual Meeting & Business Solutions Showcase. When: March 3rd, 2:30-4 PM EST. Topics: IRS & DOL correction programs to fix retirement plan errors. What can be corrected without involving any agencies? Tips and practical techniques from experienced inside

On December 23, 2025, four class action lawsuits were filed in the Northern District of Illinois and the Southern District of New York.  These suits allege employers who sponsored voluntary employee benefits plans, and their insurance brokers, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).  This article explores the allegations in these complaints and offers suggestions as to what employers can do to avoid—or at least be best positioned to defend—simi

We are pleased to share that Evan Giller of Boutwell Fay, LLP, will be on the Practitioner's Panel at the 2026 TE/GE Joint Council Meeting in Washington, DC. The panel will discuss current, practical issues and suggested solutions to inform EBSA and provide feedback on February 26, from 9:50-10:50 am EST. Event Dates: February 25-27 Location: 975 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20004 & Virtual Option 2026 TE/GE Joint Council Meeting information & registration:

Some GLP-1s, like Ozempic, are injectable drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to help adults with type 2 diabetes manage blood sugar levels. The FDA has approved other GLP-1s for weight management, with Wegovy becoming the first FDA approved daily pill in December 2025. As the popularity and accessibility of GLP-1s for weight loss has grown dramatically over recent years, employers continue to grapple with questions related to their cost and covera

Tobacco cessation program litigation is a hot topic with more than a dozen cases currently pending in federal courts.  To date, the total settlements reached in tobacco program cessation cases exceed $10 million. As this area of law continues to develop and avoid costly litigation, it’s worth reviewing your plan’s surcharges related to tobacco use and its related tobacco cessation programs.Sherrie Boutwell and Allison Martinez’s article, Does Your Wellness Program Need a Toba

The U.S. Department of Labor announced important updates to its Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance (DFVCP) Program, which for the first time now offers relief to Form M-1 filers such as Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs”)

IRS fees have increased in 2026, for VCP and Determination Letters. Be prepared!

Plan sponsors of most types of retirement plans must amend their plan documents by the end of 2026.

On September 9, 2025, the DOL issued Advisory Opinion 2025-03A which concluded that the bonus program in which the former employees participated was not a pension plan designed to provide retirement income (as contemplated by ERISA Section 3(2)(A)) but instead a “bonus program” under 29 C.F.R. § 25120.3-2(c) and, consequently, that the programs were also not required to satisfy ERISA’s reporting, claims, vesting timing and funding provisions. 

California’s AB 692, effective January 1, 2026, will significantly change how employers structure tuition assistance programs and bonus arrangements

New FAQs clarify how employers can offer fertility benefits as an excepted benefit.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was enacted in 2008 and generally prevents most group health plans that provide mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) benefits from imposing more restrictive coverage limitations on those benefits than on medical/surgical (M/S) benefits.

As we head into the last quarter of the year, plan sponsors should be mindful of the upcoming SECURE 2.0 Act deadline for mandatory Roth catch-up contributions, effective January 1, 2026. The SECURE 2.0 Act was passed on December 23, 2022, so its amendment of Internal Revenue Code Section 414(v) to require mandatory Roth catch-up contributions isn’t new news.

Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) provides individuals shall not be subject to discrimination on the basis of sex under a health program or activity that receives federal financial assistance or is administered by an Executive Agency.  (42 USC 18116(a)).  As discussed in our blog post regarding United States v. Skrmetti, the contours of Section 1557’s prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex remain a hotly litigated issue.

Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) provides individuals shall not be subject to discrimination on the basis of sex under a health program or activity that receives federal financial assistance or is administered by an Executive Agency.  (42 USC 18116(a)).  As discussed in our blog post regarding United States v. Skrmetti, the contours of Section 1557’s prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex remain a hotly litigated issue.

As we’ve advised, the times are changing when it comes to what participants’ retirement plan investment options.  On Thursday, August 7, 2025, the president signed an executive order to allow 401(k) participants to join institutional investors and non-ERISA retirement plans in investing in alternative investments like private equity, cryptocurrency, and real estate.  The order is aimed to place ERISA regulated 401(k) and defined contribution plan participants on an equal play

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“Bill”) did not extend the enhanced premium tax credits (“PTCs”) which help make health insurance purchased through the marketplace (e.g., Covered California) more affordable for millions of Americans. The Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility penalties are only imposed in situations where a full-time employee receives a PTC or cost-sharing reduction.

On June 18, 2025, the majority of the United States Supreme Court held Tennessee’s law prohibiting access to gender-affirming care for certain minors was permissible under rational basis review. The Tennessee law at issue, SB1, forbids healthcare providers from providing puberty blockers or hormones to minors.

A recent Executive Order (EO), “Making America Healthy Again by Empowering Patients with Clear, Accurate, and Actionable Healthcare Pricing Information,” aims to increase consumer access to healthcare pricing information by increasing enforcement of  regulations released pursuant to an EO issued in 2019. 

In Cunningham v. Cornell University, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that plaintiffs asserting prohibited transaction claims under ERISA §406(a)(1)(C) do not need to plead facts related to the §408(b)(2)(A) exemption to survive a motion to dismiss.

On Tuesday, January 14th, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued final rules for the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Pro