CIKR And Older Sister Weigh In On Disclosure Fees

Two groups are suggesting that the U.S. Labor Department develop a 401(k) plan “fee menu” to help participants understand the charges associated with their retirement plans.

The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries, Arlington, Va., and the Council of Independent 401(k) Recordkeepers, Arlington, a group that ASPPA recently helped create, have included that idea in a letter to the Labor Department.

The department recently asked for public comments on retirement fees and expenses and ways to improve disclosure of plan cost information.

The fee menu would be a sample fee disclosure form that would list the possible 401(k) fees and expenses that a plan might charge to a participant’s account, ASPPA and CIKR representatives write in the comment letter.

Providing a general, annual discussion of the fees that might be charged would be much less expensive than coming up with a plan-specific fee list, the representatives write.

Other recommendations in the letter: