Employee Benefits Security Administration October 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains a proposed rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) that, upon adoption, would protect beneficiaries of pension plans and individual retirement accounts by more broadly defining the circumstances under which a person is considered to be a ``fiduciary'' by reason of giving investment advice to an employee benefit plan or a plan's participants. The proposal amends a thirty-five year old rule that may inappropriately limit the types of investment advice relationships that give rise to fiduciary duties on the part of the investment advisor. The proposed rule takes account of significant changes in both the financial industry and the expectations of plan officials and participants who receive investment advice; it is designed to protect participants from conflicts of interest and self- dealing by giving a broader and clearer understanding of when persons providing such advice are subject to ERISA's fiduciary standards. For example, the proposed rule would define certain advisers as fiduciaries even if they do not provide advice on a ``regular basis.'' Upon adoption, the proposed rule would affect sponsors, fiduciaries, participants, and beneficiaries of pension plans and individual retirement accounts, as well as providers of investment and investment advice related services to such plans and accounts.

This document contains a final regulation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) that requires the disclosure of certain plan and investment-related information, including fee and expense information, to participants and beneficiaries in participant-directed individual account plans (e.g., 401(k) plans). This regulation is intended to ensure that all participants and beneficiaries in participant-directed individual account plans have the information they need to make informed decisions about the management of their individual accounts and the investment of their retirement savings. This document also contains conforming changes to another regulation relating to plans that allow participants to direct the investments of their individual accounts. These regulations will affect plan sponsors, fiduciaries, participants and beneficiaries of participant-directed individual account plans, as well as providers of services to such plans.

This document contains exemptions issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This notice includes the following: 2010-28, John D. Simmons Individual Retirement Act (the IRA), D-11597; and 2010-29, Boston Carpenters Apprenticeship and Training Fund (the Fund), L-11624.