The Department of Labor’s new 401(k) fee disclosure requirements that take effect Jan. 1, 2012 go far beyond disclosing mutual fund expense ratios to cover every nook and cranny of expenses in plans, right down to indirect service providers, speakers said at the FundForum USA 2010 conference in Boston Nov. 1.
Plans must reveal compensation of $5,000 or more they pay to direct service providers on Schedule C of Form 5500, which is the annual report that plans file with DOL, said Jessica Flores, managing partner with Fiduciary Compliance Center. For indirect service providers earning $1,000 or more, plans may either report the figure or provide the formula they use to calculate compensation — but they must report the compensation, Flores said.
