Fiduciary Plan Governance Releases New Regulations Process

Plan assessment firm Fiduciary Plan Governance, LLC (FPG) has released its 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5) management process, FeeSource, in order to add 401K fee transparency. Edward Lynch, Founderand CEO of FPG, said “Plan sponsors will soon face a deluge of fee-related data that will do almost nothing to clarify whether they are actually getting a good value for their 401(k) dollars. FeeSource is a simple, cost effective solution to this problem.”

The process has been developed as a pre-emption to the upcoming DOL regulations arriving on July 1, 2012. The new regulations, 408(b)(2) and 404(a)(5), place the burden of disclosure of plan policies onto the plan sponsors and will require additional layers of scrutiny regarding 401(k) plans and fees. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the 408(b)(2) requires plans sponsors to ensure that employees receive complete plan disclosures while 404(a)(5) requires plan sponsors to explain all associate fees for 401(k) and 403(b) plans.

“With the regulations final and the first disclosure dates set, plan sponsors need to make sure they are adequately prepared. With FeeSource, FPG continues to provide plan sponsors with objective, independent management of their fiduciary responsibilities,” said Lynch. FeeSource consists of an independent assessment process leading to certification of a plan sponsor’s compliance and best practices education.