Archives for October 2011 | Compass Corporate Retirement Solutions BLOG

02 Oct

DoL Will Allow for Electronic Disclosure to Participants

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued an interim electronic disclosure policy for its participant fee disclosure regulations.

The upcoming participant fee disclosure regulation, set to take effect May 31, 2012, requires employers to disclose more information about plan and investment costs to workers in qualified plans. There has generally been support for allowing electronic disclosure from the industry (see “ASPPA Sees “Overwhelming” Response for Electronic Disclosure”).
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02 Oct

Court Upholds Decision in Excessive Fee Case

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a district court ruling dismissing charges that Unisys Corporation and Fidelity Management Trust Company caused participants in Unisys’ retirement savings plan to pay excessive fees.

The appellate court noted the trust agreement between Unisys and Fidelity allows for amendment of the investment options included in the trust agreement by mutual agreement of the parties. Fidelity entities were required to give their consent in order for funds to be added to the group of plan investments it administers. This provision extends Fidelity’s control only over which investments were to be administered by Fidelity and not over which investments were selected for inclusion in the plan as a whole.
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02 Oct

DoL Discusses Participant Fee Disclosure Regs

The U.S. Department of Labor held a Webcast earlier this week to summarize its final fee disclosure regulations and answer questions on the rules.

Michael Del Conte, Employee Benefits Law Specialist with the Office of Regulations and Interpretations in the Division of Regulations, noted a plan sponsor may use providers’ assistance with providing participants fee information and explained under the innocent fiduciary provision of the regulations, the sponsor will not be held liable for incomplete or inaccurate information provided by a service provider if the sponsor used the information reasonably and in good faith in disclosures to participants.
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