In 2026, plan sponsors face multiple regulatory deadlines and await guidance on provisions that are effective in the new year. Close attention will be paid to regulations anticipated from the departments of Labor and Treasury, as well as the IRS.
A review of who qualifies as a retirement plan fiduciary and what fiduciary duties entail for plan sponsors.
Federal courts have described the ERISA fiduciary standard as ‘the highest known to law.’
ERISA experts caution that while delegating duties to outside providers can add expertise and help with the workload, plan sponsors still have a duty to monitor.
As regulators prepare guidance, experts say ERISA’s prudence standard remains—but process, documentation and expertise matter more than ever.
Employers of all sizes are increasingly turning to pooled employer plans as a comprehensive solution for providing a retirement savings option for their employees.
Designed to help close the retirement plan coverage gap, the pooled options are drawing interest even from midsize and large employers.
As pooled plans become less niche, recordkeepers, advisers and TPAs have started working together more than ever before.
Illinois-based Prero & Morgenstern found value in a pooled employer plan that it never saw in the state-facilitated option.
The Standard’s assistant vice president of retirement plan sales explains an employer’s responsibilities when joining a pooled employer plan.
Collective defined contribution plans, available in several other countries, offer a potential third option for American companies.
Data collected for PLANSPONSOR's 2025 Recordkeeping Survey shows that PEPs with at least $200 million in assets hold nearly double the assets as those in smaller plans; and which recordkeepers are capturing business from the maturing plan type.
How to tailor plan communications to help participants get the most out of a retirement plan.
Plan sponsors are relying on advisers, especially at small companies, to improve the effectiveness of outreach to participants.
New tools add immediacy and specificity to communications with participants.
Experts explore education, communication, what works and what more is needed.
Retirement plan sponsors balance digital convenience with participant protections under SECURE 2.0.
Protecting against scams is a ‘community sport,’ says Sastry Durvasula, TIAA’s chief operating, information and digital officer.
A sampling of information collected in the 2025 PLANSPONSOR Participant Survey.
Employee financial stress can lead to performance and health issues that directly impact productivity, recruitment and retention, prompting companies to prioritize financial wellness.
Employers are increasingly looking for programs and offerings to support multiple financial goals.
Employers increasingly recognize the link between promoting financial wellness and their companies’ ability to retain and recruit employees.
Employers should shift from ‘broadcasting their benefits’ to ‘creating more curated experiences,’ says Alight’s Rob Austin.
Women typically outlive men, but their financial literacy remains lower into their golden years, according to research from the Pension Research Council.
Aon’s 2025 Benefits Survey of Hospitals found health systems wants their employees to understand both the benefits available and how valuable they are.
Whether maintaining their plans, or derisking them this package offers a review of how sponsors are thinking about defined benefit pension plans and how they play into companies’ recruitment and retention efforts.
Due to a ‘normalized’ yield curve and strong investment performance, plan sponsors can consider de-risking or using surpluses for other benefits.
Recruitment and retention benefits are often cited as the reason a company or government continues to provide a pension.
Consultants share what they see driving their clients’ defined benefit plan decisionmaking.
An effective way to turn savings into lifetime income is enabling retiring participants to roll DC assets into an existing DB plan, writes a Goldman Sachs Asset Management managing director.
2025 has been a ‘tailwind of a year for pension finances,’ says Brian Donohue of October Three.
Despite a flurry of lawsuits challenging pension risk transfers, plan sponsors remain committed to shedding defined benefit liabilities — viewing litigation risk as another manageable cost in an otherwise hot market.
Plan sponsors can make a number of different plan design choices to help shape retirement outcomes for their participants.
Strategies emerge to bridge the gap between savings and sustainable income.
Employers are warming up to artificial intelligence in retirement planning, but its use remains in the early stages.
Researchers are considering what kinds of changes to savings and default rates are most effective in improving retirement outcomes.
The statutory deadline has not been extended, but the rules will only be applied in 'good faith' in 2026.
The advisory opinion could lead to greater adoption of annuity products.
Many trends in the DC plan market are related to, and can sometimes be attributed to, plan sponsor size and type.
Considerations of the issues that face small plans and the opportunities available to small employers for providing retirement benefits.
New and enhanced tax credits are driving up small plan adoption, but time is ticking.
Federal tax incentives and other state policy efforts have led to more retirement plans available for employees of small businesses.
Automation allows for price relief for modest-sized companies that have been paying more to provide retirement benefits.
According to the authors of a recently published paper, a lack of awareness—among both firms and their tax preparers—continues to limit take-up of SECURE Act tax credits.
Increasingly, smaller retirement plans are adding collective investment trusts to their investment menus.
A look at how 401(k) plans rank by participants, plans and assets to put the scope of the small plan universe in some perspective.
A review of issues and trends affecting the investment and operation of 403(b) plans and how they are changing.
Industry proponents expect the legislation would lower costs and broaden investment menus for sponsors and participants.
More than two years after passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, advisers are beginning to see the effects of key provisions on their 403(b) clients.
The products are complex for various reasons, but recent regulatory changes and potential demand are expected to continue driving plan sponsor adoption.
Bringing collective investment trusts to 403(b) participants could generate another $500 million annually in retirement wealth, a Vanguard research executive writes.
Assets in 403(b) plans total more than $1.5 trillion, representing nearly 160,000 plans and nearly 20 million participants, according to the 2025 PLANSPONSOR 403(b) Market Survey.
Plan sponsors and recordkeepers are looking to investment products, insurance products and technology to improve participants’ ability to create a ‘paycheck’ in retirement.
Uncertainty and confusion about products, plan design and longevity all present obstacles to turning retirement savings into regular income.
‘Guaranteed income’ offerings are popular with retirees because they reduce the need for a do-it-yourself approach to retirement finance.
With more recordkeepers embedding artificial intelligence capabilities into their platforms, many hope it will help participants select retirement income solutions.
Exploring factors plan sponsors can review when evaluating lifetime income options.
Two NEPC executives provide perspective and practical tips on the retirement income landscape.
With dementia and financial fraud cases both on the rise, plan sponsors, advisers and lawyers consider what can be done to protect participants and their assets.
With dementia cases on the rise, plan sponsors have a duty to protect assets and shelter participants from financial fraud.
Plan sponsors and recordkeepers aim to prevent both participant mistakes and fraud schemes that can decimate retirement savings.
Plan providers are using technology to authenticate participants, secure accounts, flag suspicious activity and help protect participants’ assets.
Experts from the MIT AgeLab explore the financial costs of dementia and how they manifest.
Education and tools plan sponsors can reference to help protect retirement plan assets and ensure the financial security of plan participants and beneficiaries.
Data from the Federal Trade Commission quantifies the amount of financial fraud reported in the country, what kind of scams are prevalent and where it is occurring.
A review of who plan fiduciaries are, what is required of them, and the range of issues about which they should be educated.
Experts recommend retirement plans conduct fiduciary education and training sessions at least annually and any time a new member joins the plan committee.
While outsourcing advisers or consultants can help relieve plan sponsors’ administrative tasks, it does not absolve them of fiduciary responsibility.
Who are retirement plan fiduciaries and what does ERISA require them to do?
How can plan sponsors avoid prohibited actions, mitigate fiduciary exposures and correct errors?
Rick Funston, CEO of Funston Advisory Services, talks through how public plan fiduciaries can prepare for and manage an increasingly complex pension world.
Advisers, consultants and attorneys review the myriad issues plan sponsors need to consider when building and maintaining plan investment menus.
Advisers and managers share the tools and messages that best allow plan sponsors to communicate the need for rebalancing and drive the process.
Many defined contribution plan sponsors have concerns about offering alternative investments in their 401(k) menu, but a supportive regulatory environment may shift the tide.
ERISA attorneys review what the law and a decade or more of case law require of plan sponsors.
Defined contribution plans are seen as the ‘final frontier’ for exchange-traded funds, but certain structural issues pose barriers for including these investments in the 401(k) menu.
A review of key influences on menu design, offering a framework for plan sponsors and industry professionals to consider as they build menus that are effective, responsive, and participant-centered, by executives from DCIIA.