Fiduciary Education Campaign

Getting It Right - Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao launched a nationwide campaign to improve workers' health and retirement security by educating employers and service providers about their fiduciary responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  This is the latest in a series of compliance assistance initiatives by the Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

Plan sponsors and other fiduciaries have a solemn responsibility to protect the interests of the workers and retirees in their benefit plans.  The Department's program - "Getting It Right - Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities" - will provide employers and plan officials with an understanding of the law and their responsibilities and will focus on steps for avoiding the most common problems EBSA encounters in its enforcement activities.

The program will emphasize the obligation of plan sponsors and other fiduciaries to:

• Understand the terms of their plans;

• Select and monitor service providers carefully;

• Make timely contributions to fund benefits;

• Avoid prohibited transactions; and

• Make timely disclosures to workers and their beneficiaries and reports to the government.

The Fiduciary Education Campaign includes nationwide educational seminars to help plan sponsors understand rules and meet their responsibilities to workers and retirees, thereby improving their financial security.  The campaign also includes educational materials on topics such as understanding fees and selecting an auditor.

EBSA is sponsoring the campaign in partnership with the Society of Human Resource Management, the National Federation of Independent Business, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

• Read Secretary Chao's remarks

• Listen to the audio news clip with Secretary Chao's remarks: MP3 • WAV

• Read Assistant Secretary Comb's remarks

• Press Release announcing the launch of the campaign

elaws ERISA Fiduciary Advisor

The ERISA Fiduciary Advisor provides information and answers to a variety of questions about who is a fiduciary and their responsibilities under ERISA.  It was developed by EBSA in its continuing effort to increase awareness and understanding about basic fiduciary responsibilities when operating a retirement plan.

Publications

• Meeting Your Fiduciary Responsibilities - To meet their responsibilities as plan sponsors, employers need to understand some basic rules, specifically the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  ERISA sets standards of conduct for those who manage an employee benefit plan and its assets (called fiduciaries).  This publication provides an overview of the basic fiduciary responsibilities applicable to retirement plans under the law.

• Understanding Retirement Plan Fees And Expenses - This booklet will help retirement plan sponsors better understand and evaluate their plan's fees and expenses.  While the focus is on fees and expenses involved with 401(k) plans, many of the principles discussed in the booklet also will have application to all types of retirement plans.

• 401(k) Plan Fee Disclosure Tool - A form that provides employers with a handy way to make cost-effective decisions and compare the investment fees and administrative costs of competing providers of plan services.  Now available in MS Word format.

• Selecting An Auditor For Your Employee Benefit Plan - Federal law requires employee benefit plans with 100 or more participants to have an audit as part of their obligation to file the Form 5500.  This booklet will assist plan administrators in selecting an auditor and reviewing the audit work and report.

• Selecting And Monitoring Pension Consultants - Tips For Plan Fiduciaries - ERISA requires that fiduciaries of employee benefit plans administer and manage their plans prudently and in the interest of the plan’s participants and beneficiaries. In carrying out these responsibilities, plan fiduciaries often rely heavily on pension consultants and other professionals for help. Findings included in a report by the SEC released in May 2005, however, raise serious questions concerning whether some pension consultants are fully disclosing potential conflicts of interest that may affect the objectivity of the advice they are providing to their pension plan clients.

• Tips For Selecting And Monitoring Service Providers For Your Employee Benefit Plan - Business owners are responsible for ensuring that their 401(k) plans comply with Federal law and rely on other professionals to assist them with their plan duties. Selecting a service provider is one of the most important responsibilities of a plan sponsor.

• Reporting and Disclosure Guide for Employee Benefit Plans - This guide is intended to be used as a quick reference tool for certain basic reporting and disclosure requirements under ERISA.

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program

The Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) is designed to encourage employers to voluntarily comply with ERISA by self-correcting violations of the law. Workers can benefit from the program as a result of the increased retirement security associated with restoration of plan assets and payment of additional benefits. The program also will help plan officials understand the law. In addition, the Department is giving applicants immediate relief from payment of excise taxes under a class exemption.

• VFCP Online Calculator

• VFCP Fact Sheet

• FAQs

• Federal Register Notice

• Class Exemption

• Class Exemption FAQs

• VFCP Application Checklist

• Sample No Action Letter

Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program

The Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVCP) is designed to encourage voluntary compliance with the annual reporting requirements under ERISA. The program gives delinquent plan administrators a way to avoid potentially higher civil penalty assessments by satisfying the program’s requirements and voluntarily paying a reduced penalty amount. To increase incentives for delinquent plan administrators to voluntarily comply, the Department reduced penalties and simplified the rules governing participation in the program.

• DFVCP Fact Sheet

• DFVCP FAQs

• Federal Register Final Rule

• Penalty Calculator

December 6 Pension Protection Act Webcast Toolkit

• RFI on Investment Advice to Participants in 401(k) Plans • Comments

• RFI on Investment Advice to Individual Retirement & Similar Plans • Comments

• Hearing on Computer Model Investment Advice Programs for IRAs • Agenda • Transcript

• FAB 2007-01

• Default Investment Alternatives Under Participant-Directed Plans • Fact Sheet

• FAB 2006-03

• FAB 2007-03

• PPA Web page

Campaign Partners

• Society for Human Resource Management

• National Federation of Independent Business

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

• U.S. Small Business Administration