Updated Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program For ERISA Plans Includes Self-Correction Features

As announced in our previous HR Law Talk blog post, on January 15, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) published a much anticipated amended and restated version of the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) in the Federal Register, which now includes two self-correction features. The VFCP, initially adopted in 2002 and last amended in 2006, allows ERISA plan administrators, plan sponsors, and other plan officials to correct certain fiduciary breaches and receive relief from potential DOL civil enforcement actions.

Under the revised VFCP, plan sponsors can now self-correct certain delinquent participant contributions and loan repayments as well as eligible participant loan failures that are corrected under the Internal Revenue Service Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). Self-correction of these failures was not previously available under the VFCP. Further, EBSA amended the Prohibited