As described in our LawFlash dated February 2, 2012,1 the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final regulation adopting disclosure requirements for retirement plan service providers under Section 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). That LawFlash focused mainly on the extension of the effective date to July 1, 2012 for providing the required disclosures. This LawFlash examines the changes from the interim final regulation that was published in July 2010. For a comprehensive review of the disclosure rules based on the interim final regulation, see our LawFlash dated July 21, 2010.

The final regulation makes several changes and clarifications to the disclosure requirements, including a statement about the permissibility to use estimates and ranges of fees and confirmation of the ability to provide the disclosures electronically. Importantly, it coordinates the provisions on information regarding participant-directed plan investment options with the new participant-level disclosure requirements for such plans. Discussions in the preamble also emphasize the responsibilities of plan fiduciaries to review the disclosed information, and a change to the exemptive relief for such fiduciaries highlights the need for them to terminate noncompliant service providers.

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