Emerging Issues under Interim Final Regulation on Plan Service Provider Fee Disclosure (New Effective Date)

Originally published February 11, 2011

Keywords: interim final regulation, plan service provider fee, disclosure, compensation, ERISA, retirement plans

On July 16, 2010, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an interim final regulation (the Regulation) amending its longstanding regulations interpreting the statutory exemption for the provision of plan services under Section 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The Regulation, which will become effective on January 1, 2012 (the Effective Date) for all new and existing service provider relationships covered by the Regulation, will require certain Covered Service Providers that provide services to ERISA-governed retirement plans to provide additional disclosures as a condition of obtaining an exemption under Section 408(b)(2). The new disclosures are intended to help plan fiduciaries evaluate the reasonableness of the service provider's total compensation and whether the service