ICI Welcomes Retirement Disclosure Plan

The Investment Company Institute said it welcomes the Department of Labor’s proposed rule to improve disclosure of 401(k) and other employee benefit plans to fiduciaries.

“We support disclosing information about the specific services that will be provided, what the plan will be charged directly for those services and whether and to what extent the service provider may receive indirect compensation from others,” said Mary Podesta, Senior Counsel for Pension Regulation at ICI, in a statement.

“This most recent proposal provides more regulatory guidance on what information employers need, and service providers must give, for employers to meet their responsibilities when entering into service contracts,” Podesta said.

In the proposal, the labor department noted that many of the changes in the way services are provided to employee benefit plans and changes in the way service providers are compensate have improved efficiency and reduced administrative costs.

“However, the complexity of these changes also has made it more difficult for plan sponsors and fiduciaries to understand what the plan actually pays for the specific services rendered and the extent to which compensation arrangements among service providers present potential conflicts of interest that may affect not only administrative costs, but the quality of services provided,” the proposal said.

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