401(k) Blog
Connecting the Dots Among Conflicts of Interest | April 11, 2012
In my *last blog*, I exposed a gap in the *408(b)2
disclosure requirements* (disclosure from your service
provider to you, the plan sponsor). Today, I’d like to
cover an additional point where, in my estimation, the
ruling fell short of perfection in final form: its treatment
of conflicts of interest.
See the latest journal >>
“Applicable” Disclosure May Fall Short of Full Disclosure | March 28, 2012
The new Department of Labor (DOL) 408(b)2 rule places
responsibilities on your plan service providers to fully
disclose certain information to you. But “fully” may be
an exaggeration. Among the *disclosure requirements*,
plan providers must disclose their fiduciary relationship
with you, “if applicable.” i.e. your plan provider does
not have to tell you if they are not acting as a fiduciary
to your plan, only if they are acting as a fiduciary.
Unfortunately this language requires you, the sponsor, to be
very careful in interpreting your plan provider’s
language.
See the latest journal >>
Plan Participant Fee Disclosures...And What To Do About Them Today | March 20, 2012
Ready or not, here they come: increased participant
disclosure requirements. As I explained in a *recent blog
posting*, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its final
ruling, requiring plan sponsors -- that’s you -- to begin
furnishing certain plan-level annual disclosures to
participants by August 30, 2012, and participant-level
quarterly statements to them by November 14 (reflecting July
through September participant fees).
See the latest journal >>
401(k) Plan Sponsor Disclosure Compliance, Briefly Stated | March 9, 2012
As a plan sponsor, you’ve probably been bombarded by a
flurry of information describing the Department of Labor’s
(DOL’s) February 2012 “final-final” ruling on changes
to 401(k) plan disclosure regulations. The new regulations
are referred to affectionately by the ERISA sections in
which they appear: 408(b)2 describes what plan providers
must begin reporting to you by July 1, 2012; 404(a)5
outlines what you must begin reporting to your participants
shortly thereafter.
See the latest journal >>
Plan Participant Fee Disclosures...and What They Mean to the Plan Sponsor | February 23, 2012
In my opinion, most retirement plan service providers --
including investment managers, record keepers, third party
administrators, trustees, etc. -- purposely make it
challenging for employers to understand the fees in their
401(k) plan. The consequence is that many of the nation’s
roughly 72 million plan participants overpay by not
receiving service commiserate with the fee level. It’s bad
for the plan sponsor because it could represent a failure of
his or her fiduciary duty. And of course the ultimate
consequence is that extra, hidden fees eat away at
participant account balances, which will eventually lead to
a lower standard of living in retirement for many millions
of plan participants.
See the latest journal >>
