In August 2018, President Trump issued an Executive Order, called “Strengthening Retirement Security in America”. The major goals of this Executive Order centered around making required retirement plan disclosures easier to understand, and to look for ways to reduce the costs that Plan Sponsors can incur when distributing these disclosures to Plan participants and beneficiaries.
Fast forward to October 2019, when the Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that, if adopted, would provide a safe harbor to Plan Sponsors who provide access to required retirement plan disclosures online. Plan Sponsors would need to notify Plan participants and beneficiaries that the notices are available electronically, however, the disclosures can still be sent via paper delivery, if requested.
It is projected that the change from default paper disclosures to default electronic disclosures would result in approximately $2.4 billion in net cost savings over 10 years, by significantly reducing mailing and printing costs for Plan Sponsors.
This change could be a huge win for participants and Plan Sponsors alike and will help to bring the retirement plan industry more in line with other aspects of the daily lives of U.S. workers. We will continue to update you on the progress of this proposed rule over the next couple of months. For more information, please click on the DOL’s Fact Sheet on the proposal here.