Your mid-year employee benefits checklist for 2026

The employee benefits landscape continues to change quickly, and the stakes for employers who fall behind are growing. This year is shaping up to be a highly consequential year for benefits compliance, with trending topics that include a surge in ERISA litigation and pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform requirements.

Our partners at Sandberg Phoenix recently broke down the biggest legal developments and litigation trends of 2026 so far, along with practical action items for the second half of the year. Here’s what you need to know.

Three themes that define the moment

Nearly every enforcement action, lawsuit or proposed regulation this year traces back to one of three concepts:

1. Prudence: Employers must be able to demonstrate thoughtful, documented decision-making (not just technically compliant decisions).
2. Transparency: Auditors are looking out for hidden fees and opaque vendor relationships.
3. Documentation: If it isn't documented, it effectively didn't happen.

These items make up the lens through which regulators and plaintiff attorneys are currently evaluating employer benefit plans.

What CAA 2026 and proposed DOL rules mean for your plan

Pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) arrangements are at the center of one of the biggest regulatory shifts in employee benefits right now. The Consolidated Appropriations Act 2026 signed into law earlier this year establishes new transparency and rebate pass-through requirements with a 2029 effective date. Separately, a DOL proposed rule, if finalized, would implement more stringent fee disclosure requirements for PBMs as early as 2027. This is on top of the already ongoing patchwork of applicable state PBM reform efforts that may or may not be of impact to your plan, depending on litigation status, funding method and relevant state jurisdiction(s).

It’s important to note that if a contract signed today runs through 2027 to 2029, it will span the effective date, meaning the terms you agree to now could put you out of compliance in the near future. The webinar covered the specific disclosure requirements, audit rights and penalty structure employers should understand, along with what to look for during contract renewals and how to document your review process in a way that holds up.  

New benefit designs worth watching

The session also covered several emerging benefit categories that are either newly available or moving through the regulatory pipeline, including TRUMP Accounts, proposed rules around voluntary fertility benefits and updated DOL guidance on alternative investments in defined contribution plans.

Our legal partners discuss what’s proposed, what’s final, what action items are relevant today, and how this affects you from a compliance and opportunity perspective.  

What's on the mid-year checklist

Finally, the webinar closed with a practical employer checklist for the second half of the year, covering governance structure, committee documentation, PBM contract review, cybersecurity, SECURE 2.0 amendments (note: there is a Dec. 31, 2026 deadline for SECURE 2.0 plan amendments) and more.

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Watch the full session to get the legal developments, litigation data and action items in detail.

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Have questions about how any of these changes affect your specific plan? Talk to our Benefits & Financial Strategies team today.