The Labor Department will publish a request for information in the Federal Register seeking comment on ways to “improve the current disclosures applicable to participant-directed individual (retirement) account plans,” according to a news release. The RFI will be published “soon,” the release said. The department hopes to publish a proposed regulation on new disclosure requirements later this year.
“We want to ensure workers receive meaningful fee and expense information that will help them make informed investment decisions,” Bradford P. Campbell, acting assistant Labor secretary, said in the release.
The announcement came after a congressional hearing Tuesday in which House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., said he will likely propose legislation ensuring plan sponsors and participants understand what they are paying for 401(k) plans. Mr. Miller is concerned that plan participants are paying out more in 401(k) fees than they would if they knew more about the assessments.
