The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals
BenefitsWire
Retirement Plans · June 15, 2026
Expert Analysis
The USPS Postmark Rule: What HR and Benefits Teams Need to Know
“Under the new rule, the postmark date reflects when a mail piece is first processed — not when it was dropped off at the post office or handed to a mail carrier. The postmark date raises compliance concerns for plan sponsors and recordkeepers responsible for timely providing benefits and tax notices to plan participants and beneficiaries.”
Troutman Pepper Locke
U.S. Department of Labor Issues New FLSA Opinion Letters on Exempt Work, Bonus Calculations, Meal Periods, and Rounding Practices
“The WHD confirmed that an employee may hold both an exempt position and a nonexempt position with the same employer without losing the exemption for the primary role, provided that the salary basis is maintained ... However, when calculating overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek, the employer must include all remuneration—both the salary and the hourly wages—in the regular rate calculation.”
Pierson Ferdinand
Cybersecurity, data privacy and AI may leave employers legally exposed
“Even where federal enforcement has softened, states are often stepping in and pushing litigation forward,” Norton Rose Fulbright’s U.S. head of litigation and disputes said.”
HR Dive
Virginia Is Not For Precise Geolocation Data Lovers
“Press Coverage June 15, 2026 Ashley L. Taylor, Jr. Ashley L. Taylor, Jr., a partner in Troutman Pepper Locke’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement Practice Group, was interviewed in the June 15, 2026, AdExchanger article, “Virginia Is Not For Precise Geolocation Data Lovers.”
Troutman Pepper Locke
This Week From the Hill (June 8 – 12, 2026)
“Each week while Congress is in session, our Policy team delivers a key update to highlight a topical benefits, health, or retirement news item from the Hill, such as a newly introduced bill, a summary of a committee hearing, or another hot-button matter.”
Groom Law Group
International Compliance and Risk-Mitigation Heat Map (2026 Update)
“In 2022, Foley’s Government Enforcement Defense & Investigations Team first produced a set of interactive international compliance and risk-mitigation heat maps designed to provide an at-a-glance resource for identifying countries around the world that pose potential issues for multinational companies that conduct business in, trade with, or source materials from them.”
Foley & Lardner
Littler Lounge: Orders Received – A USERRA Compliance Briefing
“Podcast The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) doesn’t operate like a typical HR policy or leave law – and treating it that way can create risk.”
Littler
Alternative Assets in 401(k) Plans: An ERISA Centered Perspective
“The conversation around alternative assets in 401(k) plans is gaining momentum, driven by regulatory developments, product innovation, and a growing willingness among plan sponsors to consider broader investment options.”
Bricker Graydon
Lifetime Income: The Gateway Drug for Insurance Products in 401(k) Plans
“The retirement industry understands something very important: once insurance products get into the Qualified Default Investment Alternative (QDIA), they become extraordinarily sticky. Participants rarely move money out of default target-date funds. That makes target-date funds the perfect Trojan horse for embedding annuity structures into retirement plans.”
The Commonsense 401(k) Project
When a Phone Call Beats the Plan’s Writing Requirement: A Louisiana Court Applies Substantial Compliance to Uphold a Telephonic ERISA Beneficiary Change
“66 Franklin Street, Suite 300 Oakland, CA 94607 In Adams v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, No. 24-668-SDD-RLB, 2026 WL 1662073 (M.D. La. June 9, 2026), the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, per Chief District Judge Shelly D.”
Roberts Disability Law
Regulatory Action and Guidance
New Guidance on Expanded IRC Section 4960 Excise Tax: Proposed Regulations Coming Soon
“The OBBBA significantly expanded Section 4960's definition of "covered employee" to potentially cover all of an ATEO's employees – not just the top five highest-compensated. Until the proposed regulations are issued, the Notice provides interim guidance on the expansion of Section 4960's definition of "covered employee" under the OBBBA.”
Groom Law Group
District Court Vacates IRS Notice 2025-42, Restoring Five Percent Safe Harbor Option for Beginning of Construction
“The court found the Notice to be a major policy shift that implicated serious reliance interests and lacked a reasoned explanation: Treasury and the IRS did not adequately justify eliminating the Five Percent Safe Harbor for wind and most solar while retaining it for small solar, did not meaningfully engage with extensive comments highlighting reliance interests and technology-neutrality concerns, and did not explain why targeted anti-abuse tools would be insuffi”
Troutman Pepper Locke
ERISA Litigation
Intent Is Not Enough: Kentucky Federal Court Holds ERISA Life Insurance Benefits Go to Named Beneficiary Absent Substantial Compliance With a Change
“66 Franklin Street, Suite 300 Oakland, CA 94607 In Unum Life Insurance Co. of America v. Crane, No. 5:24-CV-00230-MAS, 2026 WL 1706791 (E.D. Ky. June 12, 2026), United States Magistrate Judge Matthew A.”
Roberts Disability Law
Texas Court Upholds Unum’s Denial of ERISA Disability Benefits for Engineer with Syncope
“66 Franklin Street, Suite 300 Oakland, CA 94607 In King v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, No. H-25-1850, 2026 WL 1494238 (S.D. Tex.”
Roberts Disability Law
Court Clarifies Withdrawal Liability Construction Exception | Segal
“The Appeals Court held that ERISA is ambiguous as to how employees must be counted for purposes of determining whether "substantially all" covered employees perform work in the building and construction industry. As the statute does not prescribe a method, the Appeals Court compared the Fund's monthly headcount and GE's cumulative headcount approaches. It concluded that, based on the facts of the case, GE's cumulative approach was "less arbitrary and more faithful to the statute and the congressional intent behind it" than the Fund's monthly method.”
Roberts Disability Law
New Jersey Court Revives Whistleblower Claims Based on Continuing Violations
“Quick Hits On May 7, 2026, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, in Ham v. Novartis International AG, reversed a trial court’s order dismissing with prejudice five CEPA counts against a pharmaceutical company and remanded for further proceedings.”
Ogletree Deakins
What Employers Need to Know About Pension Fund Withdrawal Liability After M & K Employee Solutions v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund
“The Supreme Court said ERISA's requirement that withdrawal liability be calculated "as of" the measurement date does not mean actuarial assumptions must be fixed as of the measurement date. The Supreme Court explained that the measurement date fixes the facts about the fund—such as assets and participant data—but actuarial assumptions are not facts.”
Littler
Retirement Plan Administration
Portfolio Returns Bring Pension Funding to Record High
“Thanks to last month's robust 2.22% investment return, more than quadruple Milliman's expected rate of 0.53%, the market value of Milliman 100 plan assets grew $22 billion during May. The projected benefit obligation for Milliman 100 plans increased by $4 billion over the month, resulting from a decrease of 4 basis points in the monthly discount rate.”
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Also of Note
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