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"The Changing Landscape of Social Security & Medicare: What It Means For HR"
The 2025 Social Security Fairness Act eliminated long-standing benefit reductions (WEP and GPO) for millions of public-sector workers and spouses, altering expected retirement income and triggering new claiming and tax considerations. Concurrently, the federal reconciliation package commonly referred to as the “Big Beautiful Bill” and related regulatory updates have reshaped Medicare prescription coverage and out-of-pocket exposure beginning in 2025–2026. At the same time, annual program adjustments — including higher Social Security taxable wage limits and rising Medicare premiums — are affecting employees' paychecks, benefit costs, and retirement timing decisions as they work longer.
These changes are already influencing workforce behavior: delayed retirements, phased exits, benefit elections at 65+, and increased employee reliance on HR for guidance. Yet most HR professionals have not received structured education on how Social Security and Medicare rules intersect with continued employment and employer benefits.
This session provides HR leaders with a clear, current briefing on the most consequential Social Security and Medicare changes affecting today’s workforce, and a practical framework for confidently and appropriately responding to employee questions. Participants will better understand how legislative updates affect claiming decisions, Medicare enrollment while working, payroll and premium thresholds, and the evolving role of HR in late-career and retirement transitions.
401(k) Fiduciary Responsibilities: What Every HR Leader Needs to Know
If you’re involved in administering or supporting your company’s 401(k) plan, fiduciary responsibility likely touches your role — even if you’re not the final decision-maker. Under ERISA, fiduciary responsibility means acting in the best interest of employees and following a thoughtful, well-documented process.
This practical session breaks down what that means for HR at every level. We’ll clarify the key roles within a retirement plan, what responsibilities stay with the employer, what can be delegated to qualified experts, and where organizations most commonly experience governance gaps. Just as importantly, we’ll discuss how HR can effectively support oversight, ask the right questions of advisors and vendors, and strengthen internal processes — even without formal fiduciary authority.
You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of how 401(k) governance works, how to better support leadership in plan oversight, and how to help create a stronger retirement benefit for your employees.
Designed specifically for HR professionals, this session delivers practical, actionable guidance — not legal jargon — so you can be well-informed in your role supporting your organization’s retirement plan.
About the speakers:
Ben Coles is a National Social Security Advisor certificate holder, licensed fiduciary, and received his Master of Business Administration from Purdue. He is passionate about education, & he believes that through proper education, individuals become empowered to make optimaldecisions.
Ben started his career in Tech working for some of the biggest names in Silicon Slopes, managing and pioneering new projects and teams. He saw how many of his coworkers made financial missteps because they did not understand all of the liabilities and consequences. He transitioned to working in personal finance, where he has been able to
combine his love of educating with helping people.
Ben serves as the lead educator with MyRetire and is a Partner at Alliance Wealth Advisors where he serves as the Chief Development Officer.
Michael Sayre, CPFA®, AIF®, is a Lead Retirement Plan Advisor at CUI Wealth Management, where he specializes in advising employers on the design, governance, and optimization of 401(k) and workplace retirement plans. He has been nationally recognized as one of the Top 100 Plan Advisors Under 40 by the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA).
Michael was selected to represent the retirement industry as a delegate at the American Retirement Association’s 2024 and 2025 D.C. Fly-In, where he met with lawmakers and congressional staff on Capitol Hill to advocate for policies impacting retirement plan sponsors and participants. He also serves as a member of the Osaic Wealth Retirement Plan Council.
In addition to his advisory work, Michael is an active contributor to the broader retirement plan community. He has served as a guest lecturer for the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s (PSCA) Certified Plan Sponsor Professional (CPSP) designation program and has been featured as both a panelist and speaker at the national Osaic ConnectED conference. He has also spoken at the Salt Lake Society for Human Resource Management’s 401(k) & Benefits Summit and currently serves on the board of the Salt Lake SHRM chapter.
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