Thanks to SECURE 2.0, paper is back, requiring increased use of the traditional mail system through the United States Postal Service (“USPS”).  A recently proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) from the Department of Labor (“DOL”) “narrowly implements” SECURE 2.0’s mandate requiring retirement plans to furnish paper pension benefit statements, effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. And thanks to the USPS, postmarks aren’t what they used to be. While these may appear to be negative developments, they also provide an opportunity for plan administrators to document their review of affected aspects of plan administration (typically undertaken by a third party administrator) and either confirm those processes or consider changes.

Prior to SECURE 2.0, ERISA generally required benefit statements be provided at least quarterly to participants in a participant-directed defined contribution plan, at least annually to participants in a non-participant-directed defined contribution plan, and at least once every 3 years to participants in a defined benefit plan.  SECURE 2.0 retained this cadence of required statements for each type of plan, but effective January 1, 2026, generally required that the statements be provided in paper at least annually to participants in a defined contribution plan and at least once every 3 years to participants in a defined benefit plan with two exceptions:

• A plan that provides the statements in accordance with one of the existing regulatory electronic disclosure safe harbors may continue to use an amended version of the safe harbor (with SECURE 2.0 directing DOL as to how those existing safe harbors must be amended), and
• A plan may provide the statements electronically to any individual that explicitly requests electronic delivery.

Current Electronic Disclosure Safe Harbors

For over two decades, plan administrators, or service providers on their behalf, have been able to provide electronically certain required disclosures under Title I of ERISA, including periodic retirement benefit statements, which indicate the participant’s total accrued and nonforfeitable benefit, among other information.  These benefit statements, as well as other ERISA-required disclosures, frequently have been provided electronically pursuant to one of two regulatory safe harbors, one published in 2002 and a more recent, but in our experience less frequently used, safe harbor published in 2020.  Each is described generally below:

• 2002 Safe Harbor (29 C.F.R. § 2520.104b-1(c)).  Permits a plan administrator of either a pension or welfare benefit plan to deliver disclosures electronically to individuals who (1) are “wired-at-work”, i.e., who have the ability to access electronic disclosures at work, or (2) have affirmatively consented to receiving electronic disclosures and have not withdrawn such consent.  In the case where an individual has affirmatively consented, the individual must have received a notice indicating the documents to which the consent applies, that the consent can be withdrawn at any time and the procedures for doing so, the right to receive a paper version of the electronic disclosure (subject to a charge, if applicable), and any hardware or software requirements for obtaining the electronic disclosures. 

The plan administrator must make the electronic disclosures in a way reasonably calculated to ensure actual receipt of the information and that protects the confidentiality of the individual’s personal information. Additionally, the plan administrator must provide the individual with a paper copy upon request.

• 2020 Safe Harbor (29 C.F.R. § 2520.104b-31).  Permits a plan administrator of a pension plan to deliver disclosures electronically to individuals who provide to the employer plan sponsor or plan administrator a valid electronic address (such as an email address or smartphone number), or receive such electronic address from the employer, at which the individual may receive an electronic disclosure or notice of internet availability of the disclosure.  However, prior to providing electronic disclosures to an individual, a plan administrator must first furnish to that individual a paper notice that disclosures will be provided electronically and to what electronic address, the individual’s right to receive a paper version of the disclosure, free of charge, and to opt out of future electronic disclosures. 

The Paper: SECURE 2.0’s Mandate and the Proposed Rule

As described above, SECURE 2.0, enacted near the end of 2022, requires paper benefit statements be delivered to defined contribution plan participants at least once annually and to defined benefit plan participants at least once every 3 years, and included exemptions from the paper requirement to plans that rely on a regulatory safe harbor (or the individual requests electronic delivery). However, SECURE 2.0 also requires DOL to update those safe harbors. For calendar-year plans, SECURE 2.0’s paper disclosure requirement went into effect for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2026 – meaning compliance is already in play.

To implement SECURE 2.0’s required amendments to the existing regulatory electronic disclosure safe harbors, the DOL issued the Proposed Rule.  Specifically, the Proposed Rule would (when finalized):

• Amend the 2002 Safe Harbor to require that a plan administrator furnish to an individual who first becomes eligible for benefits after December 31, 2025 a one-time initial paper notice, prior to electronic delivery of a retirement benefit statement, of the individual’s right to opt out of electronic delivery of all required disclosures and receive paper disclosures free of charge. The Proposed Rule provides that this one-time initial notice would be satisfied through furnishing on paper the disclosure required under the existing 2002 Safe Harbor for valid affirmative consent to electronic disclosure.

• Amend the 2020 Safe Harbor to provide that, with respect to pension benefit statements, the plan administrator must provide retirement benefit statements free of charge upon request. When a paper copy is provided, the plan administrator must provide individuals receiving the paper copy with notice of how to request electronic delivery and the contact information for the plan administrator.

This means that plans properly using the 2002 Safe Harbor may continue fully electronic delivery, but must send a one-time paper notice to individuals first becoming eligible after December 31, 2025, informing them of their right to receive all ERISA disclosures on paper.  Plans using the 2020 Safe Harbor must default to paper retirement benefit statements required under SECURE 2.0 unless the participant affirmatively elects electronic delivery.  And critically, plans may not charge any fee for paper benefit statements – a departure from prior rules allowing fees for additional copies.

The Postmark: USPS Changes

While plan administrators are faced with a requirement to send more paper notices, changes to USPS’s postmark rules have introduced an operational complication.  Under the new USPS rules effective December 24, 2025, mail deposited at post offices or in blue collection boxes is no longer postmarked the same day. Instead, the postmark reflects the date the mail reaches a processing center, which can be one or more days after deposit.

For plan administrators accustomed to calculating delivery deadlines based on post office or collection box deposit dates, this shift creates hidden risk.  A notice mailed on the last permissible day may now bear a postmark showing it was sent late.  Any risk created by this shift goes beyond the provision of paper benefit statement notices to anything that involves a mailing, such as claims and appeals decisions by a plan fiduciary

Thompson Hine Takeaways

With respect to benefit statements, we expect the main impact of these changes to be some additional monitoring and oversight focused on third party recordkeeper compliance.  More generally, plan administrators may wish to take advantage of the opportunity provided by these changes by reviewing all affected aspects of plan administration including the following:

1. Work with the recordkeeper to ensure participant populations are mapped by regulatory safe harbor used, i.e., whether the plan administrator has been relying on the 2002 or 2020 Safe Harbor, to determine necessary operational changes and, as applicable, confirm that the recordkeeper is making those changes.
2. Ensure that paper statement templates are updated to include the mandatory e-delivery election instructions and plan contact information.
3. Confirm internal or external third-party mailing processes to ensure required disclosures are delivered timely.  This may require sending paper disclosures early or requesting a manual postmark. 
4. Determine whether other administrative processes are impacted by the USPS shift – such as delivery of claims and appeals decisions, responses to requests for documents, and any other tasks or responses that are required to be provided by a certain date – and implement, or ensure third parties implement, changes as necessary.

DOL stated that it will not take enforcement action against plan administrators who demonstrate a good faith compliance with the law until the Proposed Rule is finalized.  However, DOL’s enforcement restraint does not constrain the arguments that are available in private party litigation and is wholly unrelated to compliance questions that may arise solely due to the USPS shift. 

Please contact the authors or your Thompson Hine attorney with any questions.