The IRS ended 2023 with new guidance on the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0. These included proposed regulations on the new requirements for long-term part-time employees and a grab-bag of Q&As on miscellaneous provisions of SECURE 2.0. Overall, the IRS guidance does not contain dramatic surprises—but it does help employers and their providers start planning for the next few years.

Several recent decisions handed down by federal appellate courts offer some good news for plan fiduciaries. In each of these cases the courts affirmed dismissals of fiduciary litigation, concluding that the facts alleged were just not enough to support a claim. The dismissals were based on the courts’ assessment that even if the general facts alleged were true (e.g., that other plans paid less in recordkeeping or management fees or that other funds performed better) –those facts would not show that the actions taken by the fiduciaries for these specific plans were not prudent.

There is an increased focus on protecting retirement plan data. However, both regulators and the courts are taking a narrow view of the kinds of protections that should be in place,