DOL Proposal Requires Retirement Plans to Offer Yearly Paper Statements

The U.S. Department of Labor proposed new rules Tuesday requiring retirement plans to provide workers with periodic paper benefit statements, implementing a mandate in the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 that modifies long-standing electronic disclosure standards for retirement plans.

The proposal would amend the department’s existing electronic disclosure safe harbor regulations to ensure that defined contribution plans furnish to participants at least one paper benefit statement each calendar year and defined benefit plans provide to participants a paper statement at least once every three years. The paper statement requirement applies to plan years beginning after Dec. 31, 2025.

While plans may continue using electronic delivery for most required disclosures, the rule would require additional notices explaining participants’ rights to opt for paper or electronic statements and would bar plans from charging fees for paper copies. The DOL estimates the combined impact of the statute and rule will cost roughly $49 million annually in compliance costs over the next decade.

The proposed rule, published by the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, seeks to align federal regulations with Section 338 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, which amended ERISA’s disclosure provisions.

Currently, most retirement plan disclosures are delivered electronically. The DOL estimated that about 96.1% of participants receive electronic disclosures under existing rules, according to Tuesday’s filing in the Federal Register. The new statutory requirement is designed to ensure that workers receive at least some information in paper form, even as electronic delivery remains the dominant method, according to the department.

The rule would also update the DOL’s two existing electronic disclosure safe harbors, from 2002 and 2020, to incorporate new statutory protections. For example, newly eligible participants under the 2002 safe harbor have received a one-time paper notice explaining their right to request that all ERISA-required documents be furnished in paper form.

For plans using the 2020 safe harbor, each required paper benefit statement would need to include instructions on how to request electronic delivery instead, along with contact information for the plan sponsor or administrator. Plans would also be prohibited from charging participants for paper copies of benefit statements.

The DOL framed the change as a consumer protection measure. Citing survey data, the agency noted that participants who receive paper statements report reviewing them more frequently than those who receive electronic-only communications. Older Americans and lower-income workers, in particular, showed stronger preferences for paper delivery.

The Office of Management and Budget designated the proposal as an “economically significant” rule because the combined effects of the statute and implementing regulations are expected to exceed $100 million in annual economic impact, a broader measure than the DOL’s estimate, which only factored in compliance-related costs. However, the DOL stated that the rule itself narrowly implements congressional directives and does not independently generate that level of impact.

Comments on the proposal are due within 60 days of its Wednesday publication in the Federal Register—April 26. The DOL stated that it will not take enforcement action against plan administrators that comply in good faith with a reasonable interpretation of the proposed provisions while the rule is pending finalization.