Benefits Catch-Up – Q3 2026

Qualified Retirement Plans

Treasury and IRS Preview Proposed Saver’s Match Regulations
On August 7, 2026, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2026-48, announcing their intent to propose regulations under Code section 6433 for the Saver’s Match established by section 103 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, the Saver’s Match replaces the Saver’s Credit for contributions to qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Eligible individuals receive a federal matching contribution of up to 50% of the first $2,000 they contribute, for a maximum of $1,000 per year. Treasury deposits the match directly into the individual’s designated plan or IRA, even if the individual owes no income tax. For 2027, eligibility phases out completely at modified adjusted gross income of $71,000 for joint filers, $53,250 for heads of household, and $35,500 for single filers. Individuals will claim the match on new Form 8880-A, and payments are expected to begin in 2028. Retirement plans are not required to accept Saver’s Match contributions, but Treasury and the IRS encourage plans to do so. A plan that chooses to accept them must be amended, and the IRS expects to issue model amendment language.

Treasury and IRS Propose Updates to Single-Employer Defined Benefit Plan Funding Rules
On August 20, 2026, Treasury and the IRS published proposed regulations updating the Code section 430 minimum funding rules for single-employer defined benefit plans as a result of certain changes made by the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, the SECURE Act, and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. The proposal would clarify which plan-related expenses count toward target normal cost, provide funding rules for plans adopted after the end of a plan year, and narrow the anti-abuse rule for mid-year plan amendments. The rules would apply to plan years beginning at least six months after final regulations are published.

IRS Requires Electronic Submission of Letter Ruling Requests
On August 13, 2026, the IRS announced that taxpayers must submit letter ruling requests electronically through www.pay.gov using Form 15662, Application for Private Letter Rulings. Rev. Proc. 2026-30, published on August 24, 2026, modifies Rev. Proc. 2026-4 by requiring Form 15662 and electronic submission for all letter ruling and nonbank trustee approval letter requests submitted on or after September 4, 2026. The IRS will return paper submissions postmarked on or after September 4, 2026, including any paper checks. Applicants must now pay user fees through www.pay.gov by bank account, credit card, or debit card. Rev. Proc. 2026-30 does not change the procedures for determination letter applications, which already must be filed electronically.

Treasury and IRS Propose Sample Forms to Standardize Retirement Plan Rollovers
On August 12, 2026, Treasury and the IRS issued Notice 2026-49 to implement section 324 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, which requires the Treasury Secretary to simplify and standardize the rollover process by issuing sample forms. The notice proposes four sample forms and a five-step procedure for direct rollovers between retirement plans and between retirement plans and IRAs: (1) the participant submits a rollover request to the receiving plan; (2) the receiving plan forwards the request to the distributing plan; (3) the distributing plan verifies the request and provides account and transfer method information; (4) the receiving plan confirms acceptance and selects a transfer method; and (5) the distributing plan completes the transfer. The forms do not cover IRA-to-IRA transfers, which are typically completed through an electronic transfer system, but they can be used for rollovers to or from an IRA. 

ADP Settles Retirement Plan Fee Litigation for $48 Million
On July 31, 2026, plaintiffs in Berkelhammer v. ADP TotalSource Group Inc. (D.N.J.) filed an unopposed motion for preliminary approval of a $48 million settlement that would resolve six years of litigation over the $4.4 billion ADP TotalSource Retirement Savings Plan, a multiple employer plan. The plaintiffs alleged that the ADP fiduciaries breached their ERISA duties of prudence and loyalty, and engaged in prohibited transactions, by allowing the plan to pay excessive fees, offering poorly performing investments, and improperly paying themselves from plan assets. In addition to the monetary payment, the settlement requires the plan’s fiduciary committee to review at least three target-date fund options and requires an independent fiduciary to approve any reimbursement ADP seeks for administrative services to the plan.

Health & Welfare Plans

EBSA Releases New Enforcement Priorities for the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act

On September 8, 2026, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2026-03, setting out its guiding principles for enforcing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) requirements. While EBSA will not enforce the provisions of the 2024 final rule, it will actively enforce the comparative analysis requirements added by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. EBSA will focus on three NQTL categories it views as presenting the highest potential for harm to participants, including separate treatment limitations (such as blanket mental heal and substance abuse disorder (MH/SUD) exclusions), medical necessity standards and review processes, and network adequacy standards. EBSA also released a companion enforcement guidance tool that identifies compliance “red flags,” offers self-evaluation checklists, and includes 14 questions plan fiduciaries should consider asking service providers. 

For more information, see our legal alert “DOL’s MHPAEA Playbook: New Enforcement Priorities and Self-Evaluation Tool,” published September 16, 2026.

Agencies Issue FAQs on Health-Contingent Wellness Programs and Tobacco Surcharges
On August 26, 2026, the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services, and Treasury issued FAQs About Affordable Care Act Implementation Part 74, responding to questions raised in dozens of class action lawsuits challenging tobacco surcharges imposed through group health plan wellness programs. Until further guidance or regulations are issued, the agencies will not take enforcement action against plans or issuers that provide a health-contingent wellness program reward only prospectively, from the point an employee completes a reasonable alternative standard, rather than retroactively to the beginning of the plan year. The FAQs also provide that if plan materials merely mention that a health-contingent wellness program is available, without describing its terms, the plan or issuer is not required to disclose the availability of a reasonable alternative standard. Plan sponsors with tobacco surcharges or other health-contingent incentives should review their program terms and participant communications in light of this guidance and the ongoing litigation.

DOL Proposes Electronic Delivery Safe Harbor for Group Health Plan Disclosures
On July 23, 2026, DOL published proposed regulations that would establish a new electronic delivery safe harbor for certain required disclosures furnished by ERISA-covered group health plans. The proposed safe harbor would generally permit plan administrators to use a notice-and-access framework under which participants receive a Notice of Internet Availability ("NOIA") informing them that one or more required disclosures have been posted to an accessible website, rather than receiving the disclosures in paper form. The proposal, which is similar to the electronic disclosure safe harbor currently available for retirement plans, would serve as an additional, optional safe harbor. 

For more information, see our legal alert “New electronic disclosure rule for group health plan notices proposed by DOL,” published August 25, 2026.

Second Circuit Holds Providers Cannot Sue to Enforce No Surprises Act Arbitration Awards
On September 17, 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in East Coast Advanced Plastic Surgery, LLC v. Cigna Health & Life Insurance Co., that the No Surprises Act does not give providers a private right of action to enforce independent dispute resolution (IDR) payment determinations. The statute makes IDR determinations binding and requires plans to pay within 30 days, but the court concluded that Congress left enforcement to federal and state regulators. As a result, the provider, which held more than $3 million in unpaid IDR awards, could not sue to collect them. The decision joins the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in Guardian Flight, L.L.C. v. Health Care Service Corp.. Neither decision relieves plans of the duty to pay IDR awards on time. Providers may still complain to regulators regarding unpaid IDR awards. 

Other Plans and Benefits

Treasury Releases 2026 Regulatory Agenda
On July 3, 2026, Treasury posted its 2026 regulatory agenda, which lists the guidance it expects to issue over the coming year. 

Retirement items include: final regulations on automatic enrollment; long-term, part-time employee rules for 401(k) plans; SECURE 2.0 Act updates to required minimum distribution rules; and proposed regulations on employer matching contributions for qualified student loan payments. 

Health and welfare items include: proposed regulations to expand employer use of individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs); final regulations applying the Code section 4980H employer mandate to ICHRAs; proposed regulations on advance explanations of benefits; proposed MHPAEA regulations to clarify plan obligations and reduce burden; and proposed provider nondiscrimination regulations. 

Treasury and IRS Propose Rules on Employer Trump Account Contributions and First Comprehensive DCAP Nondiscrimination Guidance
On August 11, 2026, Treasury and the IRS published proposed regulations on employer contributions to Trump accounts under Code section 128 and the nondiscrimination rules for dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs) under Code section 129. For more information, see our legal alert “Passing the test: IRS proposed rules address Trump account contribution programs and nondiscrimination testing,” published August 18, 2026.

Treasury and IRS Propose Rules on Eligible Investments for Trump Accounts
On August 21, 2026, Treasury and the IRS published proposed regulations under Code section 530A, enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, on the “eligible investments” Trump accounts must hold during the growth period. The growth period ends December 31 of the year the beneficiary turns 17. The statute limits eligible investments to mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that meet three tests: (1) they track an index of primarily US equities; (2) they do not use leverage; and (3) their annual fees and expenses do not exceed 0.1%.

The proposed regulations would include ETF share classes of mutual funds in the definition of ETF; exclude actively managed funds, funds tracking more than one index, and funds tracking ESG indices; define “leverage” as borrowings, derivatives, or equivalent strategies that materially increase the risk of loss; provide a safe harbor treating an index as “primarily US” if US companies make up at least 90% of its weighting; and require trustees to designate a default eligible investment, reassess fund eligibility at least annually, and reinvest ineligible holdings within 30 days.

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If you have any questions about this legal briefing, please feel free to contact any of the attorneys listed or the Eversheds Sutherland attorney with whom you regularly work.