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June 16, 2026Retirement

The Daily Brief for Benefits Professionals

BenefitsWire

Retirement Plans · June 16, 2026

Expert Analysis

Which Optional Distributions Can Rely on Participant Self Certification?

“For certain optional distribution provisions such as emergency personal expense distributions, domestic abuse victim distributions, hardship distributions, unforeseeable emergency distributions, and disaster distributions, participants can generally provide written certification that they satisfy certain conditions for the distribution. On the other hand, qualified long-term care distributions and terminal illness distributions generally cannot be self-certified.”

PLANSPONSOR

Summer hiring is becoming a payroll stress test for small businesses

“During peak hiring periods, payroll is no longer just about processing paychecks. It becomes the system responsible for keeping onboarding, scheduling, compliance and employee trust aligned at scale. That is why businesses increasingly need payroll providers that do more than automate transactions.”

HR Dive

Group Urges Lawmakers to Allow CITs in 403(b)s for 14.5 Million Faith-Based and Nonprofit Workers

“While many private-sector workers participating in 401(k) plans can access CITs, investment vehicles that often offer lower fees and greater flexibility, many 403(b) participants remain restricted from utilizing the same retirement-saving tools.”

401(k) Specialist

Treasury and IRS Release Updated Guidance on Energy Communities

“Articles + Publications June 15, 2026 Ben Arthur Cheatham Adam C. Kobos Anne C. Loomis West Ailsworth Mitchell T. Emmert Joel M. Post McKenzie L. Bayliss Scott Grundei Tsitsi M.”

Troutman Pepper Locke

Immigration Now (at Least for a While) Costs Less: Federal Court Blocks $100k Fee for H-1B Visas

“Assume you are an employer that attracts talent and uses the H-1B visa to bring those “specialty occupations” to your workforce. Assume that since September 21, 2025, the cost of hiring employees and using the H-1B visa went up $100,000 — because it did.”

Foley & Lardner

Robert R. Saelinger

“Bob is actively involved in the operations of the St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy. Having been instrumental in the pharmacy's creation, he has served on the Board of Directors from day one.”

Bricker Graydon

Groom’s Excellence Recognized in the Legal 500 – US Nationwide 2026 Guide

“In the Legal 500 – US Nationwide 2026 Guide, Groom is again recognized for its national leadership in benefits, executive compensation, retirement, healthcare, and ERISA litigation.”

Groom Law Group

Designing Executive Loan Programs in the Context of Incentive Equity: Key Considerations and Practices

“If an executive loan program is structured improperly, the loan can be deemed disguised compensation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and subject to taxation as income, resulting in a heavy tax burden for the executive. To avoid this, a loan must be structured as a "bona fide loan" and be treated as such by the company.”

Morgan Lewis (ML BeneBits)

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Amended Notice of Meeting

“This site displays a prototype of a “Web 2.0” version of the daily Federal Register. It is not an official legal edition of the Federal Register, and does not replace the official print version or the official electronic version on GPO’s govinfo.”

Federal Register

Opening a Cryptocurrency Account: Security, Structure, and Consequences

“Download PDF The decision to open a cryptocurrency account carries legal, financial, and operational implications that extend well beyond the initial deposit.”

Pierson Ferdinand

New Jersey Appellate Court Questions Whether Firm’s Workplace Investigation Docs Are Privileged

“Quick Hits On June 1, 2026, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, in C.S. v.”

Ogletree Deakins

The SEC Quietly Killed Stable Value Mutual Funds in 2004 — And That Tells You Everything About Private Equity, Fixed Annuities, and Prohibited Transactions in 401(k)s

“The problem was structural. Stable value depended on: That distinction matters enormously. The Investment Company Act of 1940 is fundamentally a transparency regime. Mutual funds generally operate under: Stable value strained those rules. And if a synthetic stable value had trouble surviving inside a registered mutual fund structure, then general account fixed annuities are dramatically worse.”

The Commonsense 401(k) Project

Regulatory Action and Guidance

Technical Amendments: Special Financial Assistance

"The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is proposing technical corrections, clarifications, and improvements to the restrictions and conditions in its regulation on special financial assistance. These changes would clarify (a) the permissibility of investing special financial assistance in certain securities and (b) the condition requiring PBGC approval for settling withdrawal liability claims. The amendments also would repeal a provision that enabled plans that received special financial assistance to request the reallocation of employer contributions to pay for health benefit costs."

Federal Register

DOL Endorses “Bonus Pool” Approach to Calculating Percentage Bonuses

“In Opinion Letter FLSA2026-6, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) endorsed an alternative approach to the "percentage of total earnings" bonus, allowing employers to determine the total bonus pool amount after the incentive period is complete and then "reverse engineer" the percentage amount after the fact.”

Littler

House Committee Advances Fiscal 2027 Funding That Includes EBSA Budget Cut

“The House Committee on Appropriations approved legislation funding the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services for fiscal 2027, advancing the measure by a 34 to 28 vote.”

PLANSPONSOR

2027 Budget Cuts for DOL, EBSA Approved by House Committee

“The House Committee on Appropriations approved legislation funding the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services for fiscal 2027, advancing the measure by a 34 to 28 vote.”

PLANADVISER

Press Releases

Vanguard: Participation, Default Rates Reach Record Highs

“Retirement plan participants' saving behaviors remained strong in 2025, driven by widespread automatic enrollment, record default rates and higher employer matching contributions, Vanguard found in its latest "How America Saves" report. Over the past 25 years, defined contribution plan participation increased to 86% from 65%, reflecting the widespread adoption of automatic enrollment and its role in bringing more workers into the system, according to the report.”

PLANSPONSOR

ERIC Retirement & Compensation Policy Highlights: ERIC Supports DOL’s Investment Selection Rule; 2026-2027 IRS Priority Guidance Plan; and More

“Forgot Your Password? If you do not yet have an ERIC Online profile or user name and password, please create one using Create Profile Form. If you need assistance with your user name/password or profile, please contact ERIC at (202) 789-1400.”

ERIC

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