On February 25, 2026, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued proposed regulations implementing Section 338 of SECURE 2.0, which generally requires defined contribution plan administrators to furnish at least one benefit statement on paper every calendar year and defined benefit plan administrators to furnish at least one pension benefit statement on paper every three calendar
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
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The Treasury and IRS have released final regulations implementing key SECURE 2.0 provisions, including the Roth catch-up requirement for high earners and
Seyfarth Synopsis: Earlier today, Treasury and the IRS issued highly-anticipated final regulations addressing several changes to the catch-up contribution provisions implemented by SECURE 2.0. Proposed regulations were issued earlier this year (see our Legal Update here), and administrative questions lingered following the issuance of the proposed regulations. The much-welcomed final regulations answer a number of open questions that we had been grappling with following the enactment of SECURE 2.0 and the issuance of the proposed regulations earlier this year. Below is a high-level overview of several pressing issues that have been addressed by the final regulations. We will be issuing a more comprehensive Legal Update on the final rules in the coming days.
Under the proposed regulations, designated Roth contributions made by a participant at any point within a calendar year must be counted towards satisfying the Roth catch-up requirement (“Roth Catch-Up Requirement”). This provision caused administrative concerns and several commenters asked that the final rules make this permissive so that plans had the choice as to whether to include Roth deferrals made by the participant at any point in the calendar year towards the Roth Catch-Up Requirement. The final regulations provide plan administrators that use the deemed Roth approach with some – but not universal – flexibility. The final regulations do not seem to go so far as making this optional approach available in all situations, which we will cover in the forthcoming Legal Update.
Continue Reading Final Catch-Up Rules: What Now? (Spoiler Alert: There is No Extension)
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOL updated its voluntary fiduciary correction program (“VFCP”) which was introduced over 20 years ago to allow plan sponsors to corrected enumerated fiduciary breaches. The amended VFCP now allows for self-correction of the failure to timely remit contributions and loan repayments withheld from participants’ salary to the plan.
The prior VFCP required
By this point, most people in the employee benefits space have heard about the MOVEit and Retirement Clearing House (RCH) cyber incidents, which could directly impact employers’ benefit plans. The MOVEit file transfer application is used by a number of vendors, including those that locate missing plan participants or find information regarding deceased plan participants
In December 2019, The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) was enacted and signed into law. The Act was the most significant piece of legislation impacting employee benefit plans since the Pension Protection Act in 2006, and includes a plethora of changes to the laws governing employer-sponsored retirement plans, specifically impacting
On July 26, 2021, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued Notice 2021-46, providing additional guidance on the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”) and premium assistance and tax credit provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”). As described in our Legal Update , ARPA requires employers to cover
Seyfarth Synopsis: Electronic signatures may be the wave of the future for the IRS, and are more necessary now as a result of the remote work environment. The IRS issued some recent guidance, allowing two authorization forms (Forms 2848 and 8821) to be signed electronically. While this guidance is a welcome step in the direction
Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS has extended the remote notarization relief that gives plans and participants greater flexibility for participant elections, including spousal 
consents, that must be signed in person and witnessed by a notary or plan representative in order to be valid. The IRS has also requested comments on this relief, including comments as to
Seyfarth Synopsis: In response to immediate requests from participants for tax-favored coronavirus-related distributions (“CV Distributions”) and loans, as described in more detail in our prior post, and participants who want to begin pension benefits, the IRS has issued Notice 2020-42, which provides temporary relief from the physical presence requirement for any participant election that