The IRS has announced the official 2026 contribution and benefit limits for qualified retirement plans, including 401k, 403b, and 457b, in Notice 2025-67. Employers and plan sponsors should review these updates promptly to ensure compliance and optimize participant savings.
A federal judge dismissed another forfeiture reallocation lawsuit, emphasizing that plan documents govern fiduciary actions, Treasury regulations allow forfeiture reallocations, and participants received all promised benefits. The court also denied the plaintiff extra time to amend their arguments.
A participant in the Centene Management Corp. Retirement Plan has filed a lawsuit against Centene Management and Fidelity, the plan's recordkeeper and trustee, alleging multiple breaches of fiduciary duty. The case, Clark v. Centene Corp. et al., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims violations of ERISA, including excessive administrative fees, improper use of forfeitures, and prohibited transactions.
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing WPP Group USA Inc. and its retirement plan committee of misusing employee forfeitures to offset company costs instead of benefiting plan participants. The decision reflects a broader trend of mixed outcomes in forfeiture-related cases, with several recent dismissals, one case allowed to proceed, and another settled.
Many wonder why so much has been written about the new Roth catch-up rules. The reason is clear: these changes could significantly affect nearly every 401k plan. The rules are complex and far from intuitive, meaning plan sponsors who fail to prepare risk facing compliance issues that could have been easily avoided.
Fidelity has released a comprehensive three-page chart detailing the updated Retirement and Health Savings Account contribution limits for 2026. The chart provides a clear breakdown of key adjustments, including annual contribution limits for 401k, 403b, and 457b plans, catch-up contributions for individuals age 50 and older, and updated HSA limits for both individuals and families.
The IRS has announced cost-of-living adjustments for retirement plan limits effective for the 2026 tax year. Key changes include an increase in the annual salary deferral limit for 401k and 403b plans to $24,500, and a rise in the highly compensated employee threshold to $160,000. A chart summarizing the major 2026 limits is provided.
Employee participation in 401k plans continues to rise, even as contribution rates slightly decline amid economic uncertainty. Hardship withdrawals increased for the second year in a row (2.7% in 2024 vs. 2.1% in 2023), while plan loan usage fell, indicating a shift in how employees access funds. Plan design enhancements -- such as automatic enrollment, Roth options, diversified investments, and mobile access -- also gained traction.
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Collected Wisdom™
Our researchers look for what they think are some of the better resources available to assist you in administering your plan or helping your clients. We group these resources in our COLLECTED WISDOM™ topics to make it easy for you to locate the information you need. Each item in a category contains a summary and date of when it was placed in the group.
We also maintain some older material in these collections for perspective and context.
