News Release

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Release Date: October 12, 2007
Contact Name: Gloria Della
Phone Number: 202.693.8664

Employee Benefits Security Administration provides additional guidance on timing for individual benefit statements

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released Field Assistance Bulletin 2007-03, which provides guidance to EBSA’s national and regional offices relating to the timeframe for furnishing pension benefit statements by certain individual account plans.

The bulletin provides that plan administrators of individual account plans that do not provide for participant direction of investments will, in the absence of further guidance, be deemed in good faith compliance with the law if benefit statements are furnished to participants and beneficiaries on or before the date the Form 5500 annual return/report is filed by plans, but not later than the last date on which the plan administrator is required to file the report, including any extensions. The bulletin supersedes guidance on this issue set forth in Field Assistance Bulletin 2006-03.

Field Assistance Bulletins are available on EBSA’s Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the Department's Newsroom page. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when placing your request at 202.693.7828 or TTY 202.693.7755. The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to providing America's employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit the Department's Compliance Assistance page.