Department of Labor Proposes New Fee Disclosure Requirements for Participant-Directed Individual Account Plans

On July 23, the Department of Labor (DOL) released proposed regulations that would, if adopted, impose new requirements for the disclosure of fee and expense information to participants in self-directed individual account plans (such as 401(k) plans). The proposed rule would be effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2009 and is part of an ongoing effort by DOL to ensure that participants receive sufficient information about plan fees and expenses so that they can make informed investment decisions. In the same notice, DOL proposed changes to the regulations under Section 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to integrate the disclosure requirements and to restate DOL's position with respect to the scope of ERISA Section 404(c)'s protection. DOL has requested written comments on the proposed regulations by September 8, 2008.

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