News & Analysis as of

Retirement Plan Fee Disclosure

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

In Praise Of Fee Disclosure

People who didn’t sponsor a plan or weren’t involved in the retirement plan industry before 2012, think some 401(k) industry veterans like myself, are part of some multiverse when we talk about life before fee disclosure. The...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Always trying to find an angle for an ERISA lawsuit

Fee disclosure regulations and a whole bunch of excess fee settlements in litigation have curbed excessive fees. So ERISA litigators, especially on the low end, are trying to. find angles for litigation....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

401(k) Averages Book Shows More Fee Compression

Since 2012 with fee disclosure regulations, we have seen 401(k) fee compression and the latest 401(k) Averages Book shows that it’s continuing....more

Foley & Lardner LLP

401(k) Compliance Check #4: Required Participant Notices

Foley & Lardner LLP on

In last month’s 401(k) Compliance Check, we discussed what to do if you inadvertently failed to enroll someone in your 401(k) plan. In this month’s Compliance Check, we focus on the variety of typical notices that are...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Focusing on fees, blinds you

For the past 9 1/2 years, fee disclosure has certainly helped you as a plan sponsor to finally understand the true cost of plan administration. That’s important because you have a fiduciary duty to only pay reasonable plan...more

Snell & Wilmer

The DOL Asks and Answers Questions About the New Welfare Plan Fee Disclosure Rules

Snell & Wilmer on

In Field Assistance Bulletin 2021-03 (12/31/21) (FAB), the Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance and temporary enforcement policy to address the new 408(b)(2) disclosure requirements that apply to certain service...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

A marketing Tip on TPA fees

The one drawback in the fee disclosure regulations was that the Department of Labor (DOL) never bothered to develop a model fee disclosure form for plan providers, I understand the hesitancy of the DOL because it’s hard to...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

401(k) fees are still sliding

The beauty of fee disclosure regulations and technological breakthroughs is that 401(k) fees have been sliding. Even 9 years after the promulgations of the fee disclosure regulations, it’s still sliding....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Well, it used to be worse

When I was younger, I was a pessimist. Everything to me, like a bad grade in Civil Procedure I was the end of the world and I realized eventually, that it wasn’t. I learned optimism is easier to manage than pessimism....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

TPAs need clear contracts

As an ERISA attorney, my retainer agreements are pretty straight and clear. Governed by the laws that govern attorney behavior, I have no choice. Yet, Third Party Administrators (TPAs) don’t have guidelines to live by. ...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Fee Disclosure Rules Will Soon Apply to Group Health Plans

Buried in the year-end Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) is a provision that requires group health plan brokers and consultants to make comprehensive fee disclosures similar to those that apply to retirement plans. As...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Being too long a provider can be bad too

Being a long time plan provider for a client can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing. While having a long time base of clients is great for business and indicative of client satisfaction, it can be a bad thing too....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Retirement Plan Advisors Advantage - November 2020

I'm a big fan of business history when it comes to brilliant business moves, as well as some pretty awful ones. In terms of bad business decisions, I always find it amusing when I can spot one when it's made and I could see...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Participants more attentive thanks to fee disclosure

When fee disclosure regulations came into being by the Department of Labor (DOL) in 2012, so many detractors of it said it would cause plan sponsors to terminate their plans and there would be a race to zero in fees. The...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

ERISA litigators are always at the cutting edge

While every large 401(k) plan is a target for a class-action lawsuit over costs, I believe the years of litigation and fee disclosure regulations will exhaust the number of class-action lawsuits, as well as courts taking a...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

There is nothing wrong with criticism

When I was at law school at American University Washington College of Law, I was the Executive Editor of The American Jurist, which was the student newsmagazine for my final year of law school. I wasn’t a particularly fond...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The eventual effect of COVID-19 on this business

When fee disclosure regulations were promulgated in 2012, you could see the changes a mile away. While some chicken littles thought the sky was falling, I knew it would lead to a more competitive marketplace and there would...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

MassMutual considering selling its retirement plan business

According to a report from Reuters, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) is exploring a sale of its retirement services division, which has about $175 billion of assets under management and administration....more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

There is always room to grow

Years ago, a lot of financial advisors weren’t aware of their role as a retirement plan advisor when it came to handling their plan sponsor clients. Most advisors were mailing it in, pocketing the quarterly fee without...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

DOL Finalizes Electronic Notice Safe Harbor

The Department of Labor (DOL) has finally issued final regulations providing a new “notice and access” safe harbor for retirement plans to furnish required disclosures by email or other electronic ways to plan participants...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

There is room for everyone

When fee disclosure regulations were implemented, there were a few industry chicken littles that suggested that the disclosures would be a race to zero and only the cheapest providers would win out. History has proven that...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Delaware hammers a 403(b) Provider

The non-ERISA §403(b) space is the last bastion of high, hidden costs in retirement plans. That’s the problem when a plan isn’t covered under ERISA and the fee disclosure regulations. So when it comes to 403(b) plans for...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

When you focus only on fees, you lose sight of everything else

For the past 7 years, fee disclosure has certainly helped you as a plan sponsor to finally understand the true cost of plan administration. That’s important because you have a fiduciary duty to only pay reasonable plan...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

The problem of a recordkeeping asset-based fee

A long time in a galaxy, far far away (the time before fee disclosure regulations), I talked to the top salesman of a certain third-party administration (TPA) firm that charged an asset-based fee. The TPA wasn’t a producing...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Plan providers and the beauty of a direct fee

For my first year of law school, I had a renowned criminal law professor. He had a penchant for ties and an odd love for Melrose Place (I was a Dallas guy myself). For his final law exam, the fact pattern for the final exam...more

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