Two Associations Request Fee Disclosure Extension

Craig P. Hoffman, general counsel and director of regulatory affairs for the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) said in the statement that although the groups continue to support the DoL’s efforts to improve fee disclosure for individual account plans, “unfortunately, the application of both the interim (408(b)(2) and 404(a) regulations is only three months away, and the DoL has not issued the final guidance needed to create systems to comply with the regulations.” 

Due to the delay in finalizing the regulation, continued Hoffman, there is growing uncertainty as to what will be required. An example he gives is whether the 408(b)(2) regulation will require a summary disclosure statement and if so, what will be the parameters for compliance 

“It’s crucial that sufficient time to provided to build the infrastructure necessary to support the new disclosure regime which requires considerable systems work. Our members have told us engineers are already in the process of rewriting software code and programs to accommodate the new disclosure requirements, but additional time will be needed after the regulation is issued because only then will the final system design specifications be known,” said Hoffman.

ASPPA and CIkR recommend an extension of the applicability date for the 408(b)(2) and 404(a) regulations to ensure an orderly transition period (see “ASPPA Requests Fee Disclosure Extension“). 

“We have provided extensive comments to the DOL at every step of the fee disclosure process. As we near the ‘finish line,’ it is crucial that DOL give providers enough time to make the required system changes to implement the final rules,” added Hoffman.

The letter is available here.