Fees have been a key focus of the Department of Labor this year: DOL has released the long-awaited final regulations on fee transparency for plan sponsors and plan participants. The new rules for plan sponsors, which go into effect July 16, 2011, were necessary to help employers that sponsor retirement plans and plan fiduciaries get the information they need for assessing the reasonableness of the fees, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The rules for plan participants, which take effect Nov. 1, 2011, will now require retirement plan administrators to disclose to participants the plan operating expenses and all investment-related operating expenses and shareholder fees for each investment option offered in participant-directed individual account plans. With new rules, a lot is changing for 401(k) plan administrators.
Join Robert McAree, Sibson Consulting; John K. Graham, Sibson Consulting; and Jeffrey Snyder, Segal Advisors; for a comprehensive look at the new regulations and the steps plan sponsors must now take to ensure they are getting reliable fee information and communicating that information to their employees. The presenters will cover how to:
Robert McAree, Vice President and New York Retirement Practice Leader, Sibson Consulting; John K. Graham, Regional Director of Compliance Research, Sibson Consulting; Jeffrey Snyder, Defined Contribution Investment Consultant, Segal Advisors
Robert McAree joined Sibson Consulting in 2002 as a Vice President and New York Retirement Practice Leader. In 2003, he was named a Senior Vice President and Sibsons National Retirement Practice Leader. He has special expertise in the design, administration and communication of qualified and non-qualified retirement programs and is actively involved in providing retirement consulting services to a number of corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Mr. McAree has spoken frequently at employee benefits conferences most recently he has focused on the changing 401(k) plan environment associated with plan sponsor due diligence. In addition, he has been quoted in many publications on topics associated with retirement plan design, contribution and asset allocation strategies.
John K. Graham joined Sibson Consulting as Regional Director of Compliance Research in 2001. He was named a Vice President in 2009. He is an ERISA/employee benefits attorney with more than 20 years of experience in the areas of qualified and nonqualified retirement plans (including defined contribution and defined benefit plans), health and welfare benefit plans, executive compensation arrangements, compensation planning, and employee fringe benefits.
Jeffrey Snyder joined the New York office of Segal Advisors in 2008 as a Defined Contribution Investment Consultant. His primary focus is performing defined contribution vendor searches, plan assessment and fee studies as well as assisting plan sponsors in the selection and monitoring of plan investment options. Mr. Snyder also provides general consulting around legislative and regulatory changes and assists clients in developing comprehensive participant communications and education strategies.