In July, 2010 and October, 2010, respectively, the DOL issued service provider and participant level fee disclosure rules.  The Department indicated, informally, that it was considering delaying the applicability date of these regulations in order to give service providers and plan administrators time to comply with the regulations. 

On May 31, 2011, a formal proposal to modify the applicability dates was released.  According to the proposal:

• The service provider disclosure rules would be delayed to plan years beginning January 1, 2012 (see Delay of Service Provider Fee Disclosure from the March, 2011 Benefit Beat).
• The participant level fee disclosure rules would, generally, not be delayed, but the transition rules would allow some additional time to comply.   Background article: Participant Level Fee Disclosure Regulations Finalized, Benefit Beat, November 2010).

The primary reason for this proposal is to ensure that the service provider rules are in effect, and the plan has the requisite information it needs to accomplish participant level disclosure.  When this extension is made final, additional detail will be provided.

The information contained in this Benefit Beat is not intended to be legal, accounting, or other professional advice, nor are these comments directed to specific situations.

As required by U.S. Treasury rules, we inform you that, unless expressly stated otherwise, any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this Benefit Beat is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by any person for the purpose of avoiding any penalties that may be imposed by the Internal Revenue Service.