Prepare for the July 4, 2026 rollout of Trump Accounts under the OBBA. Learn about employer contribution limits, the $1,000 federal seed, and how to handle upcoming employee payroll deduction requests.

The Fourth Circuit establishes a non-exhaustive list of six factors to be used when evaluating the ERISA status of a bonus or incentive plan. Determine if your incentive compensation program is an ERISA-exempt bonus plan or subject to ERISA’s reporting, claims, vesting timing, and funding provisions.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Technical Release 2026-01, and an accompanying News Release, declaring proxy advisors who render their services pursuant to a mutual understanding on an ongoing basis for a fee will ordinarily be considered a plan fiduciary.

In January 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued proposed regulations designed to leverage ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules to make more transparent the fees paid to pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) by self-funded group health plans.

Mitigate 401(k) forfeiture litigation risk in 2026. A 3-step fiduciary guide to plan document compliance, auditing operations before the SECURE 2.0 deadline, and analyzing recent ERISA settlements like Providence Health and Capital One.

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.

Sherrie Boutwell, executive partner at Boutwell Fay, LLP has been selected to the 2026 Southern California Super Lawyers list. The top 5% of the lawyers in Southern California are selected by Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.