Fall 2011 issue of Horizons

5. Description of whether the fees will be billed or deducted directly from the plan or investment accounts, and 6. Any termination fees.

Conclusion There were several versions of the regulations issued by the Department of Labor before the “interim final regulations” were issued. In addition, numerous parties testified before the Department of Labor on the regulations, all with the intent of providing their opinions. The regulations require full disclosure of all plan fees to help fiduciaries understand them and make better decisions. The disclosures will enable them to better assess the reasonableness of their plan fees and identify any actual or potential conflicts of interest. However, the implementation of these regulations and the continued evolution will be challenging for plan fiduciaries and service providers. RubinBrown Benefits Group, LLC can assist employers with various administrative aspects of their plans including understanding the new fee disclosure requirements. Please contact Wayne Isaacs for further information.

When Must the Fees Be Disclosed? Covered service providers that are providing services to existing plans must disclose the required information by April 1, 2012 unless that date is extended again. Covered service providers that will provide services to plans in the future must initially provide disclosures reasonably in advance of the date the contract or arrangement is entered into, extended or renewed. The regulations do specify that a change to a service arrangement requires the covered service provider to make subsequent disclosures as soon as practicable, but no later than 60 days from the date they are notified of any change. In addition, a covered service provider must correct any disclosure errors that they discover within 30 days from the date they become aware of any error or omission.

RubinBrown’s Benefit Services Group RubinBrown Benefits Group serves employers in the design, development, and maintenance of retirement plans, cafeteria plans, defined benefit plans and more Chip Harris, CPA - Kansas City Partner-In-Charge RubinBrown Plan Audit Services Group 913.499.4426 chip.harris@rubinbrown.com Bob Jordan, CPA - St. Louis Partner-In-Charge RubinBrown Wealth Management

Services Group 314.290.3221 bob.jordan@rubinbrown.com

Wayne Isaacs, CPA, JD, CEBS - St. Louis Manager-In-Charge RubinBrown Benefits Group 314.290.3493 wayne.isaacs@rubinbrown.com

Brian Frevert, CPA, CFP, MBA - Denver Partner RubinBrown Wealth Management Services Group 303.952.1231 brian.frevert@rubinbrown.com

www.rubinbrown.com

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