The continued rollout of SECURE 2.0 and other updates means 2026 will likely be a busy year for regulatory guidance.  Below are a few items that are likely to matter to advisors in 2026.

1. More SECURE 2.0 guidance expected. Treasury and the IRS are still working through a long list of SECURE 2.0 projects, and their 2025-26 Priority Guidance Plan calls out multiple SECURE 2.0 deliverables, including student loan matching contributions, long-term part-time employees, automatic enrollment requirements, pension-linked emergency savings accounts, and required minimum distributions.

In 2025, the IRS finalized regulations regarding the Roth catch-up contribution requirement for high earners.  Advisors should bear in mind that the Roth catch-up contribution requirement generally applies now, but the specific provisions of the final regulations generally aren’t mandatory until tax years beginning after December 31, 2026.

2. New plan corrections guidance. The 2025-26 Priority Guidance Plan indicates the IRS hopes to provide a new version of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) to reflect changes since the most recent (2021) version.
3. Cybersecurity enforcement. The DOL’s enforcement focus for fiscal year 2026 names cybersecurity a national enforcement project, signaling DOL investigations will treat cyber risk as a priority ERISA compliance issue.  Advisors should expect investigators to ask not just whether a plan has policies, but whether fiduciaries have a documented process for selecting and monitoring recordkeepers and other vendors, negotiating and enforcing cybersecurity-related contract terms, and obtaining evidence of controls.  The shift builds on EBSA’s recent clarification that its cybersecurity guidance is intended to apply broadly across employee benefit plans.
4. Other enforcement priorities. For 2026, DOL has identified enforcement priorities (in addition to cybersecurity) that include protecting benefit distributions, retirement asset management, and criminal abuse of contributory benefit plans.  Collectively, this indicates heightened scrutiny of distribution safeguards (including fraud prevention and service-provider oversight), fiduciary oversight of investments and fees, and timely handling and remittance of participant contributions.

DOL also stated it will reduce its focus on missing participants following establishment of the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database, though plan fiduciaries should still maintain reasonable missing-participant procedures.

Apart from the expected new guidance and focus areas, advisors should remember that for many plans, amendments to plan documents for recent law changes will be required by December 31, 2026.

The Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance and best practices on January 12, 2021 to pension plans in hopes that Plan Sponsors can locate missing participants.  The guidance provides various communication strategies and ways to search for missing participants.  The end goal is to have zero missing plan participants, which may be difficult to accomplish, but hopefully they can be minimized.

Uncashed 401(k) distributions are a focus area for the Department of Labor as they view this as a fiduciary responsibility of the Plan. When a Plan changes record keepers, this could be an issue that gets overlooked.  Many workers will have different jobs over their lifetime, unlike previous generations, which may make it difficult to keep participant data current.

The process of maintaining current participant data includes:

• Maintain multiple points of contacts (e.g. phone, email, address)
• Update beneficiary information regularly
• Identify missing and unresponsive participants
• Establish a method for tracking missing participants

For those who use third party administrators (TPA’s) to maintain plan records and handle communications, Plan Sponsors should ensure the TPA’s are performing the agreed upon services and identify and correct any issues discovered.

Credit for Small Employer Pension Plan Startup Costs

Eligible small employers (those with 100 or fewer employees) may be able to claim a tax credit of up to $5,000, for three years, for the ordinary and necessary costs of starting a SEP, SIMPLE IRA or qualified plan (like a 401(k) plan.)

You may claim the credit for costs to set up and administer the plan and educate your employees about the plan.  A tax credit reduces the amount of taxes you may owe on a dollar-for-dollar basis unlike a tax deduction which reduces your tax liability.

If you have any questions regarding setting up a retirement plan, please contact us for assistance.