Employee Benefits Security Administration October 23, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor is proposing in this document a new, additional safe harbor for the use of electronic media by employee benefit plans to furnish information to participants and beneficiaries of plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The proposal, if adopted, would allow plan administrators who satisfy specified conditions to provide participants and beneficiaries with a notice that certain disclosures will be made available on a website. Individuals who prefer to receive these disclosures on paper will be able to request paper copies and to opt out of electronic delivery entirely. The Department expects that the proposal, if adopted, would improve the effectiveness of the disclosures and significantly reduce the costs and burden associated with furnishing many of the recurring and most costly ERISA disclosures. This document also contains, in section D of the preamble, a Request for Information that explores whether and how any additional changes to ERISA's general disclosure framework, focusing on design, delivery, and content, may be made to further improve the effectiveness of ERISA disclosures.