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DOL Targets Hidden Retirement Plan Fees - The New Standard of Disclosure for Fiduciaries and Service Providers


Product Code - TMAU70
Speaker(s): Andrew L. Oringer and Linda K. Shore
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The DOL has released the latest entry in its comprehensive regulatory initiative to address fee transparency in service provider arrangements with ERISA plans.  Under the DOL’s new “interim final” rules, certain plan service providers will be required to provide advance disclosure of compensation-related information to the hiring fiduciary as a condition of obtaining exemptive relief for the service arrangement under Section 408(b)(2) of ERISA.  The new rules will affect fee disclosures for common “bundled” service arrangements and will require disclosure of indirect compensation received by covered service providers and their affiliates.  

While the regulations will take effect for new and existing service arrangements in 2011, plan fiduciaries and service providers may consider early modifications to their service agreements to accommodate the new rules.  And because the new requirements will apply to existing service arrangements as soon as the rules go into effect, service providers must be prepared to provide the required disclosures to existing clients before the effective date, and plan sponsors should be prepared to consider whether changes in their service provider relationships are appropriate.

In this webinar, our panel of experts will explain:

  • Which plans, service providers and business models will be affected by the new rules.
  • What disclosures will be required, and how those disclosures may be used by hiring fiduciaries.
  • How to address the new rules in written service provider agreements.
  • The impact on revenue-sharing arrangements, particularly in the 401(k) market.
  • The consequences of noncompliance to service providers and to the hiring fiduciary.
  • The interplay of the new rules with recent changes to the Form 5500, Schedule C and other pending regulatory and legislative initiatives.

Upon completion of this program, participants will understand:

  • The new rules and how they apply to plan fiduciaries and service providers,
  • Key interpretive issues, and
  • The steps plan fiduciaries and service providers should take to comply with the new requirements.

Who Should Attend?

  • Attorneys who advise ERISA-covered retirement plans or service providers to plans
  • Retirement plan sponsors, plan administrators and fiduciaries
  • Management personnel of recordkeepers, investment advisors and other retirement plan service providers
  • In-house counsel with responsibility for employee benefits

Andrew L. Oringer and Linda K. Shore

Andrew L. Oringer, a partner in Ropes & Gray’s Tax & Benefits Department, leads the firm's ERISA and executive compensation practice in New York. Andrew counsels clients on their employee benefit plans and programs, benefits-related tax matters and fiduciary issues arising in connection with the investment of employee benefit plan assets.

Nationally known for his Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and executive compensation experience, Andrew has published numerous articles on such topics as the fiduciary rules under the Pension Protection Act, executive compensation, the tax rules governing nonqualified deferred compensation, the ERISA implications of structuring investment funds, "plan assets," the treatment of employee benefits in bankruptcy, and ESOPs. He lectures regularly on employee benefits and executive compensation issues, and is frequently quoted in various major publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Crain's Pensions & Investments, Newsday, USA Today and The Chicago Sun Times. He has authored, co-authored or contributed to numerous bar comment letters and reports to regulators on both fiduciary and compensation issues. In addition, he recently testified at the request of Congress regarding recent Department of Labor regulations.

Linda Shore’s practice with Mayer Brown focuses on matters involving ERISA and employee benefits, as she represents financial services firms and corporate plan sponsors in all areas covered by ERISA regulation. She has extensive experience in structuring private investment funds, commingled trusts, insurance company separate accounts, REMICs, REITs and other investment products to be offered to ERISA and governmental plan investors. She also focuses on 401(k) plan investment structures.

Linda has served as an adjunct faculty member in the Georgetown University Law Center graduate employee benefits program since 1993. She is a frequent writer and speaker on benefit, pension and ERISA issues. Reflecting her national visibility in these areas, she has been interviewed and quoted by, among other publications, The Wall Street Journal, CBS Marketwatch, Institutional Investor, Pensions and Investments, Investment News, IM Insight and MSNBC.