Department of Labor Proposes an Amendment to its Fee Disclosure Rules
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued a proposed rule that would amend its 2012 final service provider fee disclosure rules under ERISA Section 408(b)(2). The 2012 rule requires companies that provide certain services to pension plans to furnish detailed information about their services and the fees and compensation they receive. The 2012 rule allows companies to use existing contracts and other documents to provide this information to plan fiduciaries. The DOL found that the fee information is often contained in lengthy contract documents, or spread out among multiple documents.
The proposal amendment would require covered service providers to furnish employers and other plan fiduciaries with a guide to assist them in navigating through fee disclosure documents if disclosures are made using multiple or lengthy documents. The guide must specifically identify the document, page or other specific locator, such as section, that enables the employer to quickly and easily find fee information.
The text of the proposed rule can be found at www.dol.gov/find/20140311/. For more information about service provider fee disclosures, please contact your Trust Fund counsel.
Author: Patricia Davis
