Davis also addressed fee disclosure regulations in a general sense. “The fee disclosure rules are a centerpiece on what this administration has been working on, and the administration prior to us,” he said.
Davis emphasized the “good faith” compliance, saying that although both the 404(a)(5) and 408(b)(2) disclosure deadlines have passed, the DOL understands that new rules take some adjusting. “If people are trying to comply, we certainly take that into consideration,” he added.
Regarding 404(a)(5), Davis said the DOL is open to feedback about whether participants understand the disclosure information on their retirement plan statements. “Policy objective was to help people make better decisions, and if 404(a)(5) isn’t doing that, we will absolutely look at that,” he added.
In addition to fee disclosure, Davis addressed the re-definition of fiduciary. “[We knew] this was going to be a very engaged conversation and a very engaged debate,” he said. The DOL received comments that are helping to shape the redrafting of the fiduciary definition (see “PSNC 2012: The New Fiduciary”). “We think the rule is better as a result of this process, but it’s not quite ready,” he said.
After the revised rule is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the OMB has 90 days to review it. Once the rule is submitted to the OMB, it is a “public event” and can be viewed online, Davis added.
Corie Russell