IRS Requiring 403(b) Sponsors to Assume Fiduciary Duty

Since many 403(b) plans offered at non-profits have had little or no employer oversight, the Internal Revenue Service is going to require their sponsors to assume fiduciary duty, much as 401(k) sponsors to, The Baltimore Sun reports.   The IRS wants these plans to pare pack offerings, which sometimes number into the hundreds, and offer lower-cost choices. Although the IRS said it would make the changes two years ago, it now says it will issue new guidelines this coming year, perhaps as early as January.   The changes will require employers to be more involved in managing their 403(b)s, said Michael Beczkowski, a senior consultant with Bolton Partners, a benefit consulting firm. “The more egregious products will be weeded out,” he said. That could mean fewer annuities, as today, 80% of the $652 billion in 403(b) plans is in annuities, according to Spectrem Group.   Sponsors of 403(b)s will have to supply the plans’ rules in writing, along with the names of the investment companies in the plan, and they will have to notify people when they are eligible to participate in the plan.   “Schools have done a horrible job of letting eligible people know,” said Dan Otter, founder of 403bwise, a 403(b) information center. However, while 403(b) participants may currently invest in any investment company, whether it’s listed in the plan or now, under the new guidelines, they will lose that flexibility, Otter said.   The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.