Defined benefit plan

Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Jim Banks (R-IN) have introduced the Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act. According to a press release, the bill would require the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to do the following.

The Internal Revenue Service has released Notice 2026-27, updating the static mortality tables for defined benefit plans for 2027. This guidance is issued pursuant to Treasury Regulation 430(h)(3)(A) and is applicable for purposes of calculating the funding target and other items for valuation dates occurring during the 2027 calendar year.

A bill re-introduced by Representative Bryan Steil (R-WI), titled the Protecting Americans' Retirement Savings From Politics Act, has cleared the House Financial Services Committee by a vote of 27-24.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued Revenue Ruling 2026-09 which contains the applicable federal rates (AFR) for May 2026. These rates are used for such purposes as calculating distributions from retirement savings arrangements that meet the requirements for substantially equal periodic payments (a 10 percent early distribution penalty tax exception), also referred to as “72(t) payments”.

The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2026-01, a memorandum to EBSA staff from Assistant Secretary Daniel Aronowitz providing guiding principles for EBSA's enforcement priorities. The guidance notes that these priorities and principles are designed to ensure that EBSA’s enforcement is fair, even-handed, responsive, and focused.

The Department of Labor announced that it has issued Technical Release 2026-01, guidance reaffirming that proxy advisors that regularly engage in exercising control over shareholder rights attributable to ERISA plan assets, or provide advice for a fee about how ERISA plans should exercise proxy voting rights, must meet ERISA’s functional fiduciary requirements. The guidance follows an executive order, Protecting American Investors from Foreign-Owned and Politically-Motivated Proxy Advisors issued in December by President Trump spotlighting two large foreign-owned proxy advisors.

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) has introduced a pair of bills to help family caregivers better prepare for retirement. According to a press release, the Improving Retirement Security for Family Caregivers Act (S. 4292) would allow family caregivers to contribute to a Roth IRA even though they may not satisfy the earned income requirement in support of the contribution. A qualified family caregiver is someone who provides more than 500 hours of in-home care to a child or to an adult with a special need or age-related condition—and has completed fewer than 500 hours of paid employment. 

Representatives Greg Steube (R-FL), and Suzan DelBene (D-WA), have introduced the Optimizing Participant Tax Incentives through Optional Noncash Selections (OPTIONS) Act. The proposal builds off of guidance previously issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in private letter ruling (PLR) 202434006. 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the postponement of certain tax-related deadlines for severe winter storms in the state of Mississippi until June 8, 2026. The tax relief postpones various tax filing deadlines that began on January 23, 2026. Affected individuals and households that reside or have business in Mississippi, as well as taxpayers with records located in the covered area that are needed to meet covered deadlines, qualify for relief.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued Notice 2026- 26, which contains updated guidance on factors used in certain defined benefit (DB) pension plan minimum funding and present value calculations.