On February 24, 2026, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule titled “Requirement To Provide Paper Statements in Certain Cases-Amendments to Electronic Disclosure Safe Harbors.” The proposal includes what the DOL terms as “narrow” amendments to ERISA’s two separate electronic disclosure safe harbors to implement the paper benefit statement requirement under section 338 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0). The proposed rule would apply to defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) plans that are subject to ERISA. Comments on the proposed rule are due by April 27, 2026, 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The following topics are covered in this brief:

• Requirements for providing benefit statements to DC and DB plan participants
• Exceptions to the paper benefit statement requirement
• Electronic delivery of retirement plan statements
• When the first paper statements are due
• Mailing paper statements
• Next steps for DC and DB plan sponsors

Requirements for providing benefit statements to DC and DB plan participants

As background, ERISA Section 105(a) specifies the requirements for plan administrators to provide benefit statements to participants in DC and DB plans.

• For DC plans, benefit statements must be provided at least quarterly (once each calendar quarter) to participants or beneficiaries who can make investment decisions for their account (participant directed), and at least annually (once each calendar year) to those who do not have investment control over their plan account (non-participant directed).¹
  
  New from SECURE 2.0: At least one of the benefit statements for a calendar year must be provided on paper.
  
  
• For DB plans, benefit statements must be provided generally at least once every three years to participants who are currently employed by the plan sponsor and have a vested accrued benefit, and to any participant or beneficiary upon written request.²
  
  Alternative notice permitted. As an alternative to providing triennial DB plan benefit statements, plan administrators can satisfy the benefit statement requirement by providing participants with a notice at least once per year informing them that a benefit statement is available and explaining how to obtain it. Plan administrators can deliver the alternative notice in various ways that are reasonably accessible to the participant, including paper, electronic, or another appropriate form.
  
  New from SECURE 2.0: At least one paper benefit statement must be provided every three calendar years, unless the plan uses the alternative annual notice of availability. Note that this requirement is on a calendar year basis, which may not align with the timing of when the plan (particularly those with non-calendar year plan years) sends benefit statements under the general every three years rule.

The paper benefit statement requirement applies to plan years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Exceptions to the paper benefit statement requirement

SECURE 2.0 provides the following two exceptions to the paper benefit statement requirement:

• Plans that deliver statements using DOL’s 2002 electronic disclosure safe harbor regulation
• Individuals who request electronic delivery and their statements are provided electronically

In addition, DB plans that use the annual alternative notice of benefit statement availability (whether on paper or electronic) in lieu of providing benefit statements every three years may continue to do so. The DOL acknowledged this both in the preamble to this proposed rule and in its earlier August 11, 2023 Request for Information—SECURE 2.0 Reporting and Disclosure in which Footnote 3 notes that SECURE 2.0 did not change the alternative notice provision for DB plans. Therefore, DB plan administrators will continue to satisfy the benefit statement requirement (including the paper benefit statement requirement) if the annual alternative notice is provided.

Electronic delivery of retirement plan statements

Plan administrators must take reasonable steps to ensure participants actually receive notices, statements, and other required ERISA disclosures.³ As technology progressed, electronic delivery became possible and the DOL issued two safe harbor regulations addressing electronic delivery methods.

1. The 2002 electronic disclosure safe harbor regulation allows plan administrators to deliver ERISA-required documents electronically for two groups. First, “wired-at-work” participants—those whose job duties provide effective access to electronic communications—may receive required ERISA disclosures electronically and can request paper copies at no cost, but previously did not have a general right to opt out of electronic delivery. Second, individuals who affirmatively consent to electronic delivery may receive required ERISA disclosures electronically, but plan administrators must provide an “advance notice” explaining that consent can be withdrawn at any time and how to do so.
   
   New: One-time initial paper notice. SECURE 2.0 directed the DOL to update this regulation to require a one-time initial paper notice be sent to individuals who first become eligible to participate in the plan or first become eligible for benefits after December 31, 2025. If a plan uses the 2002 safe harbor to electronically deliver benefit statements, this initial paper notice must be sent to such post-2025 newly eligible individuals before any benefit statements are delivered electronically and must inform them of their right to request all ERISA Title I disclosures be delivered in paper form (i.e., to opt out of electronic delivery entirely and receive only paper disclosures).
   
   For the second group of individuals under the 2002 safe harbor (those not “wired-at-work” but who affirmatively consent to electronic delivery), since the advance notice and the new initial paper notice essentially function in the same way, the proposed rule would permit the advance notice to count as the initial paper notice, if the advance notice is sent on paper. The DOL believes that most people who consent to electronic delivery will get the advance statement on paper, which will satisfy the SECURE 2.0 initial paper notice. The standalone initial notice will mostly be sent to “wired-at-work” participants.


2. The 2020 electronic disclosure safe harbor regulation provided an alternative safe harbor available only to retirement plans—both DC and DB plans—(but not to welfare benefit plans, such as disability benefit or group health plans). DC and DB plans are permitted to default to electronic delivery for individuals who have a valid electronic address (such as an email address, smartphone number, or employer assigned electronic address), without requiring “wired-at-work” status or prior affirmative consent, relying instead on having a valid electronic address for the participant and providing an initial paper notice with specific required explanations and information. There are two delivery methods: a notice-and-access approach (e.g., an email directing recipients to a continuously available website via hyperlink) and direct email delivery, with the disclosure in the message or as an attachment. Before using either method, plans must send an initial paper notice explaining that electronic delivery is the default method and that the individual has a right to opt out at no cost.
   
   The proposed rule modifies this regulation to reflect mandatory paper benefit provisions of SECURE 2.0:
   • Paper benefit statements excluded from default electronic delivery. The proposed rule would revise this regulation to make mandatory paper benefit statements no longer eligible for automatic default electronic delivery under the 2020 safe harbor. The safe harbor would still apply to other statements (e.g., the other three quarterly DC statements per year for participant directed plans). Plans could still use the notice-and-access or email methods to deliver the otherwise paper-mandated statements electronically if participants affirmatively elect electronic delivery, as explained immediately below.
   • Participants may request electronic delivery. For plans using the 2020 electronic disclosure safe harbor, the proposed rule provides that participants and beneficiaries must have the opportunity to request to receive the otherwise mandatory paper benefit statements electronically.
   • Required explanation of how to request electronic delivery. The proposed rule would also require that the paper benefit statements include instructions on how to switch to electronic delivery.
   • Required inclusion of contact information. The proposed rule also requires paper benefit statements to list the contact information, including a phone number, for the plan sponsor, plan administrator, or another designated plan representative (e.g., third-party administrators and recordkeepers).
   • No fees for paper statements. The proposed rule implements SECURE 2.0’s rule prohibiting the plan from charging fees to participants or beneficiaries for paper benefit statements when using the 2020 electronic delivery safe harbor. It also removes the prior rule that allowed fees to be charged for additional copies of the same statement beyond the first free copy.
   
   SECURE 2.0 also directed the DOL to modify the 2020 safe harbor regulation to ensure every electronically delivered ERISA disclosure explains how to receive all ERISA-required disclosures on paper and to allow plans to provide an electronic copy of a benefit statement when a paper version is issued. The DOL did not make these changes in the proposed rule since the existing regulation already covers both requirements.

For the period between the issuance of this proposed rule and the issuance of the final regulation, the DOL will not take enforcement action against plan administrators who apply a reasonable, good-faith interpretation of the provisions in this proposed rule.

When the first paper statements are due to retirement plan participants

SECURE 2.0 requires that, for DC plans, at least one benefit statement “for a calendar year” be provided on paper. The proposed rule does not add a requirement that the paper statement be delivered within that calendar year—it requires that at least one statement corresponding to that year be on paper. Therefore, calendar-year DC plans that are required to send a paper benefit statement may satisfy the 2026 plan year’s once-per-year paper statement requirement with the fourth-quarter 2026 statement (due February 14, 2027, for participant-directed DC plans), and with the annual 2026 statement (due by the 2026 Form 5500 due date, including extensions, or the date Form 5500 is actually filed, if earlier) for non-participant-directed DC plans.

For DB plans, SECURE 2.0 requires that at least one benefit statement furnished every three calendar years be provided on paper (for plans that do not elect to use the alternative annual notice of availability). Existing DB plans will have already established an every-three-year period for delivery of benefit statements (the timing of which may be accelerated but not lengthened). The first DB plan benefit statement complying with the new paper statement requirements, therefore, would be dependent on the plan’s existing three-year delivery period and would be due no earlier than for the 2026 plan year; however, they could be given for any of the three plan years from 2026 through 2028 as long as the at-least-once-every-three-calendar-year delivery period is satisfied.⁴ As noted earlier, some DB plans may need to adjust their existing delivery timing as the three-year periods required under the general ERISA rule and SECURE 2.0 may be slightly different. The proposed rule did not address potential differences.

The DOL has not provided any specific timing or deadline for delivering triennial DB plan benefit statements since the requirement originated under PPA. In the absence of specific guidance, some DB plan administrators have followed the “good faith compliance” timing that applies to DC plans: either (1) not later than 45 days following the end of each statement period for participant-directed DC plans (as per FAB No. 2006-03); or (2) not later than the due date, including extensions, for filing the Form 5500 for the plan year (or if earlier, the date Form 5500 is actually filed for the plan year) for non-participant-directed DC plans (as per FAB No. 2007-03). The later timing under FAB No. 2007-03 might be appropriate for DB plans facing similar timing challenges, since much of the required information for benefit statements might need to be compiled in connection with the preparation of the plan's Form 5500, necessitating coordinating the deadlines for these items.

Mailing paper statements to retirement plan participants

The United States Postal Service (USPS) recently issued a final rule on postmarks and postal possession, highlighting that there may be a delay between when USPS receives mail and when it is postmarked. DC plans that are required to send paper benefit statements and use the postmark as proof of timely compliance should be aware of these changes to ensure that statements are mailed by the required due date.

Next steps for DC and DB plan sponsors

• Review the three-year timing period for DB plans: For plans that do not use the alternative annual notice of availability, plans sponsors should consult with their plan legal counsel and plan administrator to understand the plan’s existing once every three year benefit statement timing and determine when the first paper benefit statement should be sent.
• Review disclosure workflows: Assess which participants currently receive electronic-only statements and identify those who will require a paper statement or a new initial paper notice starting in 2026.
• Review fee schedules and participant fee disclosures: Ensure no administrative fees are charged to participants or beneficiaries for the delivery of mandated paper statements. Coordinate with your plan service provider to ensure their paper statement templates include the required contact details and no-fee language.
• Submit comments: The DOL is accepting public comments on the proposal through April 27, 2026.

Please contact your Milliman consultant with any questions about how this proposed rule may impact your plan(s).

¹ DOL Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2006-03 issued December 20, 2006, provided “good faith compliance” guidance on significant changes made by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA) to the ERISA section 105 benefit statement requirements for both DC and DB plans that first introduced the requirement for plans to furnish benefit statements: (1) at least once each calendar quarter for participant directed DC plans; (2) at least once each calendar year for non-participant directed DC plans; and (3) at least once every three years for DB plans that do not use the alternative annual notice of availability. The PPA changes to the ERISA section 105 benefit statement requirements generally first became applicable for plan years beginning after December 31, 2006 (i.e., beginning with the 2007 plan year).

² Ibid.

³ 29 CFR § 2520.104b-1(b)(1). (2026). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-XXV/subchapter-C/part-2520/section-2520.104b-1.

⁴ The DOL did not specifically explain in the proposed rule any deadline for delivery of triennial DB plan paper statements. Nor did the DOL provide delivery deadline specifics for DB plans in FAB No. 2006-03 from when the DB plan triennial benefit statement requirement was first effective beginning with the 2007 plan year (other than that the first triennial statement to comply with the new requirements “would be due for the 2009 plan year”).