The Department of Labor has hired a contractor to gather input from plan fiduciaries on its March 11 proposed rule requiring service providers to furnish a guide to their 408(b)(2) disclosure documents.
The DOL has contracted with ICF International, which will hold eight to 10 focus group sessions with approximately 70 to 100 fiduciaries to pension plans with fewer than 100 participants. While it’s standard procedure to invite interested parties to comment on a proposed regulation, holding focus group sessions is unusual.
The DOL did not reveal the cost of the focus group contract. Participants in the focus groups will be asked to provide information including:
• the number of service providers hired by the plan;
• whether they are aware of, and understand, the disclosures mandated by the 408(b)(2) regulation;
• their experience with receiving the disclosures;
• whether they were able to find information regarding the services that would be provided and the costs of those services;
• whether their review of the disclosures affected their decision-making regarding hiring, monitoring or retaining service providers or changing plan investment options;
• whether their covered service providers furnished a guide or similar organizational tool to help find specific information within the disclosures; and
• whether a guide to the required disclosures would be beneficial to them, and if so, how much they would be willing to pay to receive a guide.
The DOL says it hopes these sessions may provide information about the need for a guide, summary, or similar tool to help responsible plan fiduciaries navigate and understand the required disclosures.
The DOL's announcement of the contract raises several questions. Here’s one: If the focus groups demonstrate that fiduciaries don’t need or want a guide to their 408(b)(2) disclosure documents, will the DOL withdraw its March 11 proposed regulations?
