Below is an overview of the Department of Labor’s 3 pronged regulatory initiative aimed at increasing information Plan Sponsors, Fiduciaries, and Participants receive regarding fees and investment performance for Qualified Retirement Plans.
Form 5500 Schedule C
Overall Goal: public disclosure of service provider fees
- For Large Plan Filers (over 100 participants)
- Reporting Service Provider Fees over $5,000
408(b)(2) Fiduciary Disclosures
Overall Goal: assist Fiduciaries in determining reasonability of direct and indirect fees
- Covered Service Providers (CSP) making over $1,000
- CSP Must Provide Written Disclosure to Responsible Plan Fiduciary
- Disclosing Both Direct and Indirect Compensation
- Describing Services Provided
- Disclosures due in advance of agreement changes or extensions
Participant-Directed Investment Disclosures
Overall Goal: provide participants with comparative investment information to
⇒ Increase Informed Decision-Making
⇒ Strengthen Competition Between Investment Products to Drive Down Fees
- Applied to Self-directed Individual Account Plans
- Disclose Performance in a Comparative Format
- Disclose Fee Information
- Provide a Website for Fund Information
- Annual Disclosure of Performance Data and Fund Level Expenses
- Quarterly Disclosure of Individual Expenses
