FYI: Fiduciary New Developments and March 10th 401(k) Plans Seminar
By Cindy Van Bogaert
February 22, 2010
Here is your latest FYI: Employee Benefits Update from Cindy Van Bogaert, Partner and Chair of the Employee Benefits Practice Group at Boardman Law Firm LLP. This FYI addresses some new developments that affect plan fiduciaries and also is a reminder that it is not too late to sign up for the March 10th 401(k) Plans seminar in Madison, WI.
The Department of Labor has been working on several regulatory projects that will affect employer-sponsored retirement plans and their fiduciaries.
- The Department of Labor plans to publish a proposed regulation in June 2010 to amend the current regulatory definition of "fiduciary" to include more persons, such as pension consultants, as fiduciaries. As a result, these persons become subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's ("ERISA") fiduciary responsibility rules, and will owe a duty of undivided loyalty to their plan clients. See: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/regs/unifiedagenda/ebsafall2009/1210-AB32fs.html?PrinterFriendly=true&.
- The Department of Labor also plans to ensure that all workers who invest the assets in their 401(k)-type plans are given the information they need to make informed decisions about the management of their individual accounts and the investment of their retirement savings, including information about fees and expenses, and that such information will be presented to workers in a format that makes it easy for them to compare the investment options under their plan. The Department of Labor plans to publish a final regulation in September 2010 imposing this disclosure obligation on plan fiduciaries of all participant-directed individual account plans. See: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/regs/unifiedagenda/ebsafall2009/1210-AB07fs.html?PrinterFriendly=true&.
What should employers do? Employers should watch for issuance of new regulations, but in the meantime, the following steps are recommended:
- Identify all plan fiduciaries, check for conflicts of interest and prohibited transactions, and carefully evaluate and monitor fees and performance.
- Understand all of the fees (both direct and indirect) that are charged under the plan. Disclose fees to participants.
I will cover these and other new developments that affect 401(k) plan administration in the March 10th seminar. Important new developments that will be covered include new guidance on automatic contributions, summary prospectuses, Department of Labor criminal prosecutions, foreign account filings, new defined benefit/401(k) plan, rollover notices, and more. Find out how to minimize employer liability. For registration information on the "401(k) Plans" Seminar in Madison, WI on March 10, 2010, contact Nick Sayers at (608) 283-7577 or visit: http://www.boardmanlawfirm.com/events/401kSeminar.php.
Other upcoming seminars:
- "HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security," for the Employee Benefits Institute of America in Baltimore, MD on April 22, 2010. For information: http://www.ebia.com/Seminars/InPerson.
- "HIPAA Privacy Heats Up," at the Midwest Claims Conference in Lake Geneva, WI on May 6, 2010.
- "Fiduciary Responsibility," at Wisconsin Retirement Plan Professionals, Ltd in Milwaukee, WI on May 27, 2010. For contact information: http://wrppl.org/Home/tabid/88/Default.aspx.
- "HIPAA Privacy: Tougher Rules; Tougher Enforcement," at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference & Exposition in San Diego, CA on June 28, 2010. For information and to register: http://www.shrm.org/CONFERENCES/annual/Pages/default.aspx.
This FYI is not legal advice. Individuals should seek advice based on their particular circumstances from their own counsel.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Cindy Van Bogaert at (608) 283-7543 or Email.
Would you like to have FYI: Employee Benefits Update sent directly to your e-mail inbox? If so, please send your request, with e-mail address, to Cindy Van Bogaert at Email.