There are a handful of institutions in the benefits world that have become so woven into the daily rhythm of the industry that it’s hard to imagine the business without them. For many of us, BenefitsLink was one of those institutions.
And now, after more than three decades, effective June 30 it’s coming to an end.[i]
Back in 1995 — when most of us were still figuring out what the internet was, much less what it might become — Dave Baker and Lois Baker launched something that would fundamentally change how the retirement and benefits community shared information.
It’s difficult to fully explain to those who came later just how revolutionary that was — and the inspiration it provided for a whole generation of benefit news sources, including my own “baby,” PLANSPONSOR’s NewsDash.[ii]
Before BenefitsLink, finding timely information on retirement plans, executive compensation, health benefits, ERISA litigation, or regulatory guidance was often a scavenger hunt involving trade publications, faxed bulletins, mailed newsletters, and more than a little luck. BenefitsLink democratized access to information long before “content aggregation” became a business model — or a buzzword.
But what made it indispensable wasn’t merely the links.
It was the consistency.
Every day, there it was — organized, curated, and quietly comprehensive. Court decisions, IRS guidance, DOL releases, industry commentary, conference announcements, jobs, message boards, vendor resources — all assembled with an understanding that benefits professionals needed both breadth and relevance. And lacked the time or expertise to pursue it on their own.
More than that, it became part of the daily routine of an industry.
And perhaps most remarkably, it did so without the performative noise that defines so much of today’s digital landscape.
No clickbait. No outrage algorithms. No endless self-promotion.
Curated for content, not clicks.
Just useful information, thoughtfully presented, day after day after day.
To this day, I still count it as a small professional victory to publish news of a regulatory development before BenefitsLink — though, truth be told, that rarely happened.
For an industry built on compliance, fiduciary process, and technical detail, BenefitsLink became something rare: trusted infrastructure.
It also became a connector. Lawyers, consultants, advisors, TPAs, actuaries, recordkeepers, regulators, journalists, and plan sponsors all found themselves occupying the same informational ecosystem. Entire professional relationships — and, in some cases, careers — were shaped by the visibility and community that Dave and Lois created.
I count myself among them.
The retirement industry talks often about “service,” though usually in the context of products or client relationships. What Dave and Lois provided was service to an entire profession.
And — incredibly — they did it for 30 years.
So, while the closing of BenefitsLink marks the end of a website — and, more significantly, a newsletter — it also marks the closing of a meaningful chapter in the evolution of the benefits community itself.
To Dave and Lois: thank you.
Thank you for building something before most people understood why it mattered.
Thank you for maintaining it with integrity, professionalism, and consistency.
And thank you for helping generations of benefits professionals do their jobs better informed — and a little more connected — than they otherwise would have been.
America’s retirement future — and mine — are better because of what you built.
— Nevin E. Adams, JD
[i] The job posts and community bulletin boards will continue.
[ii] Which, not coincidentally, launched as an internal email publication at Wachovia Bank in late 1995, though it didn’t become a “thing” at PLANSPONSOR until 1999 — and it was an integral part of my life every day until 2011.
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