The new fee regulations are meant to give plan sponsors te tools to choose the best retirement plan for their employees and themselves. Many plan sponsors are unaware of their fiduciary responsibilities and the risks that go along with them. Many bokers and agents are unaware of these same fiduciary risks and responsibilities. Many brokers and agents are aware but choose to ignore telling the plan sponsor for fear of losing the sale.

• Fiduciaries are only required to act if they believe disclosure has not occurred. The regulations require a fiduciary who believes the disclosure has not been made to affirmatively write to the Covered Service Provider requesting such disclosure and to take immediate steps to terminate the contract if the information is not provided. However, the regulations do not allow a fiduciary to avoid asking for disclosure and then avoid knowing whether it occurred.
• Compliance Deadline Dates get extended, so be careful of what you read. The current date for compliance is July 1, 2012, and the deadline for the 404(a) participant disclosure rules is now August 31, 2012. These dates may continue to get extended so watch for updated information.

Plan sponsors need to address all these steps however the two listed may be the most overlooked.

Please comment or call to discuss how you and improve your 401(k) plan while protecting yourself.