Feds delay upcoming 401(k) fee deadline

Good news: Employers have been granted another compliance delay. This one involves 401(k) fee disclosures and comes courtesy of the Department of Labor (DOL).

Recently, the DOL announced it’ll give 401(k) plan sponsors a temporary reprieve from disclosing the detailed investment info they had been required to provide by Aug. 30, 2013.

As you know, last year was the first year in which employers were required to provided this info.

After the initial disclosures, firms were then supposed to provide this info “at least annually thereafter.”

But in response to concerns about the current deadline, the DOL is granting this one-time delay. The biggest concern was the timing of the August deadline.

Employees wouldn’t get their 401(k) fee-disclosure statements at the same time as their other end-of-the-year statements and benefits-enrollment materials, and chances are the disclosures wouldn’t have the impact the feds intended.

A chance to ‘reset’ distributions

Now, instead of delivering the second set of disclosures 12 months from the initial set, plan sponsors can furnish this info up to 18 months after they delivered the first disclosures and reset their distribution schedule.

So if a company provided its first set of disclosures on Aug. 25, 2012, it has until Feb. 25, 2014, to issue the next set. Following this, plan sponsors will have to furnish this info “at least annually.”