COLLECTED WISDOM™ - ERISA Advisory Council Final Working Reports

Section 512 of ERISA provides for the establishment of an Advisory Council (Council) on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans. The Council consists of 15 members appointed each year by the Secretary of Labor. Each year the Council forms a number of working groups to focus on issues important to the administration of ERISA. These working groups identify and define subject issues, investigate, take testimony from witnesses, and submit a final report of findings and recommendations. These final reports can provide both valuable information and insight into issues studied. This Collected Wisdom™ is a catalog of those reports of concern to or focused on 401k plans.

Financial Literacy of Plan Participants and the Role of the Employer - Summary: The 2007 ERISA Advisory Council formed a Working Group on Financial Literacy of Plan Participants to study numerous issues in increasing the financial decision-making skills of plan participants. This is there report. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, May 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Fiduciary Responsibilities and Revenue Sharing Practices - Summary: The 2007 ERISA Advisory Council formed the Working Group on Fiduciary Responsibilities and Revenue Sharing Practices to study numerous issues relative to the practice of revenue sharing. This is there report. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, May 2008. Click on headline for full article.

Prudent Investment Process - Summary: This report was produced by the 2006 ERISA Advisory Council’s Working Group on Prudent Investment Process. The desired result of the Working Group was to discover and present matters that would enhance the ability of fiduciaries to execute their responsibilities under ERISA. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, May 2007. Click on headline for full article.

Retirement Distributions & Options - Summary: This Working Group made inquiry into the nature of the distribution options available to participants of defined contribution qualified retirement plans, and the sufficiency of the communication of the options to retiring or terminating participants. This is their final report including recommendations. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, March 2006. Click on headline for full article.

Communications To Retirement Plan Participants - Summary: The 2005 ERISA Advisory Council formed a Working Group on Communications to Retirement Plan Participants to assess whether plan participants understand their rights and benefits under retirement plans and if existing ERISA-required communication tools are accomplishing the goal of full disclosure. This is their final report including recommendations. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, March 2006. Click on headline for full article.

Report on Plan Fees and Reporting on Form 5500 - Summary: This ERISA Advisory Council working groups task was to determine what fees and expenses are currently reported by plan sponsors on Form 5500 and to determine whether there are other fees and expenses that should be reported, but currently are not. The working group was also charged with studying whether plan sponsors adequately understand the total fees and expenses they are paying and whether those fees are reported on the Form 5500 in a manner consistent with the Department of Labor's reporting objectives. This is their final report including recommendations. Located at: 401khelpcenter.com, LLC, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Fee And Related Disclosures to Participants - Summary: This ERISA Advisory Council working group studied fee and related disclosures to participants in defined contribution plans that relate to investment decisions and retirement savings. The scope of their study encompass both plans that are intended to meet the ERISA §404(c) requirements and those that are not intended to meet those requirements. Existing disclosure requirements within the scope of this study were examined. Their goal was to assess the adequacy and usefulness of the current requirements and whether changing the disclosure requirements could help participants to more effectively manage their retirement savings. This is their final report including recommendations. Located at: 401khelpcenter.com, LLC, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Exploring the Utilization of Third-Party Trustees to Protect Plan - Summary: In 1993, the ERISA Advisory Council's Defined Contribution Working Group began the first phase of a three-phase study. The third phase, studied during 1995, considered the question whether defined contribution plans provide employees with an adequate source of retirement income. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Guidance in Selecting and Monitoring Service Providers - Summary: The Working Group on Guidance in Selecting and Monitoring Service providers presents its interim report and recommendations to the 1996 ERISA Advisory Council. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Soft Dollars/Commission Recapture - Summary: The Soft Dollar and Directed Brokerage Working Group respectfully submits the following report and recommendations to the 1997 ERISA Advisory Council. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Optional Professional Management In Defined Contribution Plans - Summary: Plan sponsors are beginning to incorporate in their plan design the opportunity for participants to delegate the investment allocation/implementation of their plan assets to professional investment advisors and managers. The Working Group examines the advantages, disadvantages, fiduciary implications, and industry practices of this emerging plan design practice. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Orphan Plans - Summary: Although orphan plans are estimated to represent only about two percent of all defined contribution plans and less that one percent of total defined contribution plan assets, the problems that orphan plans create for participants, administrators, the government and the courts are substantial. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Employer Assets in ERISA Employer-Sponsored Plans - Summary: Except for some very modest provisions enacted as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, there is absolutely no limit on the amount of employer assets that can be held in defined contribution plans. The dearth of limitations for defined contribution plans is in stark contrast to the ten (10) percent limit on employer assets that has applied to defined benefit plans since the enactment of ERISA in 1974. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Fiduciary Education and Training - Summary: Education for fiduciaries of both deferred compensation and employee welfare plans is essential if such fiduciaries are to keep current. While it may be unreasonable to expect that fiduciaries of plans in small firms can keep abreast of every development in such a complex regulatory environment, such fiduciaries are still in need of education, particularly about what a fiduciary under ERISA is and what responsibilities such fiduciaries have. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Small Business: How to Enhance and Encourage the Establishment of Pension Plans - Summary: As a result of the Working Group’s findings, it is clear that there is a need for marketing to promote the creation of plans; for education of employers and employees; and for legislation to deal with regulatory obstacles, as well as the need to create tax and financial incentives. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

Working Group on Soft Dollar and Directed Brokerage - Summary: The 1997 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans created a working group to study the need for regulatory changes and/or additional disclosure to pension plan sponsors and fiduciaries on soft dollar and directed brokerage practices. In choosing this topic, council members expressed concern this area lacked sufficient guidance for plan fiduciaries to properly administer their pension plans in compliance with ERISA's fiduciary requirements. In addition, soft dollar and directed brokerage practices had not been comprehensively addressed by Department of Labor staff since the mid-1980s. Located at: U.S. Department of Labor, December 2004. Click on headline for full article.

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