On February 25, 2026, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued proposed regulations implementing Section 338 of SECURE 2.0, which generally requires defined contribution plan administrators to furnish at least one benefit statement on paper every calendar year and defined benefit plan administrators to furnish at least one pension benefit statement on paper every three calendar years. The proposed regulations specify how plan administrators that otherwise comply with the 2002 or 2020 electronic disclosure safe harbors under Title I of ERISA can comply with this new requirement. Please see our prior blog post for a summary of the existing electronic disclosure safe harbors.
For plans using the 2002 “wired-at-work or consent” safe harbor, the proposed regulations would require plan administrators to provide a one-time paper notice — provided before any electronic qualified retirement plan benefit statement — to participants, beneficiaries, or alternate payees who first become eligible on or after January 1, 2026, informing them of their right to opt out of electronic delivery and receive all disclosures required under Title I of ERISA (i.e., SPDs, SMMs, SARs, benefit statements, etc.) on paper, free of charge. This requirement applies only to newly eligible individuals and is not retroactive (i.e., the plan administrator does not need to provide the one-time notice to individuals who became eligible for the qualified retirement plan prior to January 1, 2026). Notably, the DOL specifically contemplates that this notice will be included with other new-hire and benefit explanation documents, meaning that a separate specific notice for this purpose is not required. Further, the one-time notice is required only if the plan chooses to send the required annual (DC plans) or triennial (DB plans) pension benefit statement electronically under the 2002 safe harbor, rather than mailing it on paper. This proposed change is significant because the “wired-at-work” safe harbor does not currently require plan administrators to give participants the option to opt out of electronic distribution. Plan administrators will need to discuss implementation of this new opt out feature with their third-party recordkeepers.
For plans using the 2020 “notice and access” safe harbor, the proposed regulations would exclude the newly mandated paper pension benefit statements from the 2020 safe harbor unless the individual affirmatively elects electronic delivery. The 2020 notice and access safe harbor did not previously include an affirmative election requirement, so plan administrators will need to coordinate with their third-party recordkeepers to discuss how to best solicit participant elections for electronic delivery (if desired). In addition, the proposed regulations would require that pension benefit statements (1) describe how to request that such statements be furnished electronically; and (2) include contact information for the plan sponsor, plan administrator or other designated plan representative. Fees for paper benefit statements are prohibited.
SECURE 2.0 provides that the new paper benefit statement requirement will apply for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Importantly, however, the DOL has stated it will not take enforcement action against plan administrators that comply in good faith with a reasonable interpretation of the proposed rules. Plan administrators therefore should evaluate their current disclosure practices and assess whether operational changes will be needed for the current and upcoming plan years.