retirement

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS is back to work and just announced the 2026 annual limits that will apply to tax-qualified retirement plans. But wait, there’s more – a surprise increase in the inaugural FICA wage limit for purposes of the mandatory Roth catch-up requirement.  Employers maintaining tax-qualified retirement plans will need to make sure their plans’ administrative procedures are adjusted accordingly.

In Notice 2025-67, the IRS announced the various limits that apply to tax-qualified retirement plans in 2026. The “regular” contribution limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans will increase from $23,500 to $24,500 in 2026. The “catch-up” contribution limit for individuals who are or will be age 50 by the end of 2026 is increased from $7,500 to $8,000. 

However, the “super” catch-up contribution limit for individuals aged 60 to 63 on December 31, 2026, remains $11,250. Some were expecting that limit to be indexed to 150% of the regular catch-up limit. However, the Internal Revenue Code provides that the limit is the greater of $10,000 or 150% of the 2024 catch-up limit (i.e., $7,500). As a result, the “super” catch-up contribution limit remains $11,250 for 2026, and the $11,250 limit may be indexed for inflation in future years. Continue Reading Shutdown’s Over—IRS Wastes No Time Reminding You You’re Still Not Saving Enough

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Benefits and Beyond: What Happens to PTO, Health Insurance, Retirement Plans, and other Benefits?

When an employee passes away, their benefits don’t just vanish into the HR ether. There’s a surprising amount of paperwork, plan rules, and tax codes that come into play—and yes, you’ll probably need to call your benefits administrator (and maybe your…

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Let’s face it—no one wants to think about what happens when an employee dies. It’s a deeply human moment, and yet, somewhere between the condolences and the memorial service, someone in Human Resources is quietly asking: “So… what do we do about their final pay?”

It’s not cold-hearted—it’s compliance. When an employee passes away, employers…

In this episode, Richard is joined by Alan Wilmit, serving as co-host, as they welcome Ada Dolph, a Partner in Seyfarth’s ERISA Litigation group, to unpack the complexities of pension risk transfers (PRTs). Ada explains what PRTs are, how they’re used to manage pension liabilities, and why they’re drawing increased scrutiny. The conversation covers…

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Seyfarth Synopsis: Just before its summer recess, the Supreme Court agreed to review whether multiemployer pension funds can impose withdrawal liability based on actuarial assumptions adopted after the relevant plan year. The expected decision may have significant implications for employers’ ability to assess the impact of a contemplated withdrawal.

At the end of June, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in M & K Employee Solutions, LLC v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, No. 23-1209 (U.S. June 30, 2025 amended July 3, 2025) to consider an important question in calculating how much employers withdrawing from multiemployer pension funds are legally obligated to pay.

Withdrawing employers have to pay a portion of the fund’s unfunded vested benefits (i.e. the amount of vested benefits that a fund is legally obligated to pay but for which the fund does not have sufficient assets to meet). The withdrawal liability calculation is to be determined based on the fund’s financials as of the end of the plan year before the withdrawal. It can take many funds six months if not more after the end of a plan year to finalize their year-end financials and thus be able to issue a withdrawal liability assessment in the following plan year. In that interim, as the financials are being finalized, fund actuaries have on occasion changed actuarial assumptions, such as interest rates or mortality tables, retroactive to the prior plan year.Continue Reading Changing Last Year’s Assumptions This Year: Gotcha or Copacetic?

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Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 28, 2024, Washington State’s Governor, Jay Inslee, signed into law a bill that creates a new state-run retirement program called “Washington Saves.”  Under the program, “covered employers” must give “covered employees” the opportunity to contribute a portion of their pay to an individual retirement account (“IRA”) on a pre-tax basis in order to save for retirement. 

Which Employers Must Comply With Washington Saves?

Only “covered employers” must comply with Washington Saves.  A “covered employer” is an employer that:

  • has been in business in Washington State for at least two (2) years;
  • has a physical presence in the State as of the immediately preceding calendar year;
  • does not offer a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(a), 401(k), 403(b) plan, to their “covered employees” (employees who are at least age 18) who have been continuously employed for at least one year; and
  • employs, and at any point during the immediately preceding calendar year employed, employees working a combined minimum of 10,400 hours (which translates to approximately 5 full-time or full-time equivalent employees.)

Continue Reading Washington Saves; Washington State’s New State-Mandated Retirement Program

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True to form, the IRS released long-awaited proposed regulations during a long holiday weekend. This time they are narrowly focused on the eligibility rules for Long-Term Part-Time employees first introduced under the SECURE Act, and then expanded by SECURE 2.0. But, they did not disappoint, and are chock full of useful and detailed information on…

Coffee Talk SG

Signed into law in the waning days of 2022, the SECURE 2.0 Act contains over 90 provisions impacting qualified retirement plans. Several of these provisions materially expand how Roth contributions are to be used, that impact employers and participants alike. We are witnessing the Rothification of retirement accounts. Grab your cup of coffee and tune…

Coffee Talk SG

The Internal Revenue Code provides significant tax benefits for both employers and employees participating in a 401(k) or 403(b) plan. In exchange for these tax benefits, the plan must satisfy a litany of requirements, notably that a plan be administered in accordance with its plan document. Failure to do so could result in the plan’s…

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS just announced the 2023 annual limits that will apply to tax-qualified retirement plans. For a second year in a row, the IRS increased the annual limits, allowing participants to save even more in 2023. Employers maintaining tax-qualified retirement plans will need to make sure their plans’ administrative procedures are adjusted accordingly.…