US Department of Labor revises interim e-disclosure policy under participant fee disclosure regulations

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today issued Technical Release 2011-03R, which revises the department's interim policy regarding the use of electronic media to satisfy the disclosure requirements under the department's final participant-level fee disclosure regulation.

On September 13, 2011, the department issued Technical Release 2011-03. The interim policy states that the department will not take enforcement action based solely on a plan administrator's use of electronic media to make the required disclosures under the participant fee disclosure regulation if the administrator complies with the conditions in the technical release.

In response, EBSA has received a number of inquiries regarding whether Technical Release 2011-03 is intended to apply to continuous access websites and whether, and under what circumstances, it allows investment-related information required under paragraph (d) of the participant-level fee disclosure regulation (i.e., the comparative chart) to be furnished as part of a pension benefit statement.

Today's technical release revises and restates Technical Release 2011-03 as Technical Release 2011-03R. The revised technical release is identical to Technical Release 2011-03 except as necessary to clarify that (1) continuous access websites are permissible if the administrator complies with the conditions in the technical release; and (2) investment-related information under paragraph (d) of the participant-level fee disclosure regulation may be furnished as part of, or along with, a pension benefit statement, either electronically under the conditions in the technical release or in paper form.

To view Technical Release 2011-03R visit http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/tr11-03r.html.

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