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

20252026Increase from 2025 to 2026
Annual Maximum Benefit$280,000$290,000$10,000

Qualified

Revenue Ruling 2025‑15 (available here) provides guidance on withholding and reporting obligations when a plan participant or beneficiary fails to cash a distribution check and a replacement check is issued. As discussed below, the guidance is consistent with general constructive receipt principles.

First Check Issued to a Plan Participant or Beneficiary

When a qualified

Starting March 17, 2025, the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”) will have a “self-correction” option.  Although the new option eliminates the need to wait for formal approval of a correction submission, participating fiduciaries will still need to satisfy a notice requirement and submit information to the Department of Labor.  The applicable

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued 3 documents outlining guidance on cybersecurity practices for benefits plans, which we discussed in a blog post at the time. The DOL recently issued revised versions of the original three documents in its Compliance Assistance Release No. 2024-01. The revised versions of these documents clarify