On November 13th, the IRS released a number of inflation adjustments for 2026, including to certain limits for qualified retirement plans. The table below provides an overview of the key adjustments for qualified retirement plans.
Qualified Defined Benefit Plans
| 2025 | 2026 | Increase from 2025 to 2026 | |
| Annual Maximum Benefit | $280,000 | $290,000 | $10,000 |
Qualified
On October 9th, the IRS announced several inflation adjustments for 2026, including adjustments to the annual contribution and carryover limits for healthcare flexible spending accounts and the monthly limit for qualified transportation fringe benefits. Separately, the One, Big, Beautiful Bill increased the contribution limit for dependent care flexible spending accounts from $5,000 (or $2,500 for
Under ERISA, a participating employer that withdraws from a multiemployer pension plan must pay its share of the plan’s unfunded vested benefits (i.e., its withdrawal liability). ERISA’s “controlled group” rules extend this obligation to all “trades and businesses” that are under “common control” with the withdrawing employer, thereby making the withdrawing employer and each controlled
We recently reported on a district court decision holding that the Central States Pension Fund’s calculation of withdrawal liability should not have included contribution rate increases imposed after the Fund’s implementation of a rehabilitation plan. In Central States, S.E. & S.W. Pension Fund v. Event Media Inc., Nos. 24-1739 & 1740-42, 2025 WL 1185368