Last week the Department of Labor published its final rule on participant fee disclosure, which is the last step in the Department’s three pronged, multi-year approach to increasing fee transparency in the defined contribution marketplace. Before we dive in to the participant fee regs, lets quickly review the Department’s first two fee disclosure initiatives: Disclosure [...]

Many people have asked about the new 2009 Schedule C requirements, so I felt it was time to do a quick overview. Major Changes: Direct vs. Indirect Fees:  Fees are separated into those paid directly by the plan and those received indirectly from another service provider. New Language: “You must complete this Part, in accordance [...]

Yesterday Barack Obama announced his pick to head the EBSA.  At the ASPPA conference last week many people were anxiously awaiting the nomination.  It seems things at the DOL slow down a bit when the new administration isn’t fully in place.  We think that this is a very important role in the administration and are [...]

I spent some time digging through the public comments to the rule proposed by the DOL on 12/13/2008 relating to Regulation 408(b)(2).  The comments paint a very clear picture about where individual firms and industry trade groups fall on each side of the debate. The battle lines have been drawn along the lines of economic [...]

The Fi360 blog is reporting that the DOL is expected to withdraw 408(b)(2) and the regulations on participant disclosures. For those not familiar with 408(b)(2), it is the proposed Department of Labor regulation that aims to provide more effective disclosure of indirect compensation by plan service providers. The withdrawal of the regulation would be a [...]