DOL Issues Final Rule Extending Fee Disclosure Timetable

It’s now official: The effective dates regarding fiduciary and participant fee disclosure regulations for retirement plans have been extended.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule (which becomes effective July 15) providing that:

• Fiduciary-level Fee Disclosure Regulation: The effective date for the interim final rule is extended from July 16, 2011, to April 1, 2012.
• Participant-Level Fee Disclosure Regulation: A transitional rule in this final regulation is amended to require that initial disclosures be furnished no later than the later of 60 days after a first day of the first plan year beginning on or after Nov. 1, 2011, or 60 days after the effective date of the fiduciary-level fee disclosure rule. The transitional rule also provides that certain quarterly disclosures must be furnished no later than 45 days after the end of the quarter in which the initial disclosures must be furnished to participants and beneficiaries based the transitional rule.

For background on why DOL changed the effective dates, see our story here.