The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the 2026 cost-of-living adjustments to the dollar limitations for qualified retirement plans and other benefits, and the Social Security Administration announced its own cost-of-living adjustments for 2026. Most of the dollar limits, including the elective deferral contribution limit for 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans; the annual compensation limit under 401(a)(17); and the maximum annual contribution limit under Code Section 415(c) will increase from 2025 limits. The dollar limit for catch-up contributions for participants who attain age 60,61,62, or 63 in 2026 will remain the same.
DOL Advisory Opinion Confirms Post-Employment Vesting Provisions in RSUs Should Not Create an ERISA Pension Plan
On September 9, 2025, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Advisory Opinion 2025-03A addressing the following question: Are awards of restricted stock units (RSUs) that permit post-employment vesting considered a “pension plan” subject to the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)? For the reasons discussed below, the DOL answered, no, the RSUs are not subject to ERISA.
IRS Issues Additional Guidance on Withholding and Reporting for Uncashed Retirement Plan Checks
Uncashed checks can be an administrative headache for retirement plans, potentially raising fiduciary and compliance concerns. Why?
Feeling Competitive: The Reasonableness of Forfeiture-for-Competition Provisions
Though the FTC’s noncompete ban has since fizzled out, the commotion around noncompetes also led to conversations about “forfeiture-for-competition” clauses — a similar, but distinct type of agreement.
IRS Issues Proposed Regulations on the Expanded Definition of “Covered Employee” Under Code Section 162(m)
On January 16, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published proposed regulations (90 FR 4691) under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 162(m) generally limits the deductibility of compensation paid in any tax year to covered employees of a publicly held corporation to $1 million.
IRS Announces 2025 Retirement Plan Limits: Modest Increases
The Internal Revenue Service announced the 2025 cost-of-living adjustments to the dollar limitations for qualified retirement plans and other benefits, and the Social Security Administration announced its own cost-of-living adjustments for 2025. Most of the dollar limits, including the elective deferral contribution limit for 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans, the
New IRS Guidance: Emergency Personal Expense and Domestic Abuse Victim Distributions Under SECURE 2.0
On June 20, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Notice 2024-55 (the “Notice”) offering guidance on two (2) new types of distributions exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty: emergency personal expense distributions and domestic abuse victim distributions.
Back to 1975: New Delays to the DOL’s Investment Fiduciary Advice Rule
Two Texas federal court decisions have stalled the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) “investment advice fiduciary rule” under Section 3(21) of the Employee Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (the “Fiduciary Rule”) from its September 23, 2024 effective date (see our previous alert).
The DOL’s Final Investment Advice Fiduciary Rule Is Here
In its latest attempt in a fourteen-year old quest to update the circa-1975 definition of a fiduciary who renders “investment advice for a fee or other compensation, direct or indirect” (an “investment advice fiduciary”) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), on April 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “Department”) released final regulations (the “Final Rule”) defining an investment advice fiduciary, as well as amendments to several prohibited transaction class exemptions (“PTE”). This post summarizes the key provisions of the Final Rule and the amendments to the PTEs.
IRS Issues Guidance on Secure 2.0 – What Plan Sponsors Need to Know
In late December 2023, approximately one year after Congress enacted the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”), the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) released Notice 2024-2 (the “Notice”) providing much needed guidance, in the form of questions and answers, on 12 of the 90 new provisions added by SECURE 2.0.