Resource Tag: Regulation
Final Rule to Improve Transparency of Fees and Expenses to Workers in 401(k)-Type Retirement Plans
A final regulation issued by the Department of Labor requires 401(k)-type plans to disclose fee information to plan participants. the DOL also issued a fact sheet about the regulation, and a model fee disclosure chart.
Qualified Domestic Relations Orders
The Department of Labor issued final regulations clarifying that private pension and retirement savings plans cannot reject court orders dividing benefits at divorce (Qualified Domestic Relations Orders- QDROs) that are issued after the death of an employee or retiree. The DOL issued interim final regulations in March 2007. Read the PRC’s comments on the interim final regulations.
Default Investments
The Department of Labor issued final regulations on September 27, 2006 that set standards for default investment options in defined contribution plans when participants have been offered an opportunity to select an investment option but fail to do so. This situation primarily arises when employers automatically enroll their employees in the company 401(k) and the […]
Protection for Early Retirement Benefits
New Rule Will Preserve Reemployment Rights Under a final regulation issued by the Treasury Department, a change in pension plan rules limiting reemployment rights of certain early retirees will not affect pension benefits earned before the rule change. The final regulation interprets a United States Supreme Court case, Central Laborers’ Pension Fund v. Heinz that […]
Electronic Notices and Consents
New Regulation Allows Internet Waivers of Rights The Treasury Department issued final regulations under the Paperwork Reduction Act permitting private retirement plans to provide certain required notices by computer rather than first-class mail. The regulation also permits employees and their spouses to give up specified rights by electronic means. Electronic Notices The regulation provides standards […]
Multi-Employer Plan Funding Notices
On January 11, 2006 the Department of Labor issued final regulations on new funding notices for multiemployer pension plans. Congress passed the Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004 requiring plan administrators of multiemployer defined benefit plans to give workers and retirees certain information about the status of their plans’ funding each year. The new regulation specifies what must be included […]
Protecting COLAs
New Rule Protects Cost-Of-Living Adjustments The Treasury Department issued a final rule on August 12, 2005 overturning a court case that would have allowed plans to take away cost of living adjustments from pensioners if they had retired before the increase was adopted by the plan. In 2003, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit […]
Documents for Divorce Proceedings
Regulation Assists Spouses in Obtaining Plan Documents A final regulation issued by the Department of Labor will provide help to those going through divorce who are having difficulty getting plan documents from their spouse’s pension plan. If a request is made in writing by a participant or beneficiary and the plan administrator has failed or refused […]
Understanding the Difference
Plain-English Notices Required Before Certain Payouts A Treasury Department regulation requires plans to tell employees about dollar differences in payout options. Some pension plans that offer special early retirement benefits pay smaller amounts to employees who take their payments as lump sums rather than as annuities. In some cases taking a “subsidized early retirement benefit” as a lump […]
Impact of Annuitization (May 3, 2010)
The Department of the Treasury and the Department of Labor issued a joint Request for Information (RFI) regarding the impact annuitization may have on workers participating in retirement plans. Read the Pension Rights Center’s response. PRC was also a part of the Women’s Pension Coalition response. In September 2010, Rebecca Davis testified at a joint […]
401(k) fee disclosure (July 24, 2007)
The Department of Labor submitted a Request for Information on the issue of 401(k) fee disclosure to plans and participants. The Pension Rights Center submitted comments.
