Fidelity Technology Group has filed a lawsuit against a Palo Alto software maker seeking an injunction to prevent Broadcom Inc. from terminating software access in two months. FTG argues that losing access would halt most RIA client servicing, disrupt Fidelity's operations, and potentially impact financial markets. The suit claims irreparable harm if the court does not intervene.
An employee of Rick Case Enterprises Inc. filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida alleging the company mismanaged its 401k plan during a recordkeeper switch from Empower Retirement to Principal Financial Group, causing unexplained losses. The complaint claims the company breached fiduciary duties under ERISA.
Target-date funds have grown significantly in popularity and assets, driven mainly by their role as the default investment in 401k plans and the rise of automatic enrollment. Total TDF assets now exceed $4 trillion, with annual growth of over 30% in the past 15 years. By the end of 2024, 30.3% of 401k assets were in TDFs, up from 15.8% in 2014. TDFs are offered in 85% of plans, and 87.2% of plans with a qualified default investment alternative use TDFs as the default option.
Policymakers and industry experts are exploring ways to expand investment opportunities for retirement savers in 401k and other defined contribution plans. At a recent event hosted by ICI and DCALTA, discussions focused on legal, operational, and policy considerations for giving retail investors access to private market assets. Experts agreed that private markets could improve retirement outcomes for DC plan participants, driven by several converging factors.
Plan participants have filed an ERISA class action against Husch Blackwell LLP, alleging the firm misused employee 401k contributions by diverting them into its operating account instead of transferring them promptly to the retirement plan. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Starting January 1, 2026, catch-up contributions for participants aged 50 and older who are classified as high-paid in 401k, 403b, and governmental 457b plans must be made on a Roth basis. Employers will need to identify these participants and ensure their catch-up contributions are Roth, even if their current election is pre-tax. The IRS has issued final regulations on this requirement, which will impact payroll systems, plan recordkeepers, and sponsors.
The Treasury has issued final regulations effective January 1, 2026, giving plan sponsors new options and required elections under SECURE/SECURE 2.0. Sponsors don't need to finalize choices until adopting the amendment by December 31, 2026, which will be provided by their document provider. These regulations aim to clarify complex provisions, offering choices that may simplify or complicate plan administration.
The author says that the time for giving consultants a free pass is over. According to him, "consultants are conflicted, opaque, compensated in hidden ways, instrumental in the CIT expansion, and central players in nearly every excessive-fee, revenue-sharing, and TDF-corruption scheme. Suing only the plan sponsor or recordkeeper is no longer sufficient. Consultants must be part of the defendant group."
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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.
