At The Podium

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires plan fiduciaries to act prudently and solely in the interest of the plan’s participants and beneficiaries when selecting and monitoring service providers and plan investments. This includes ensuring that arrangements with service providers are "reasonable" and that only "reasonable" compensation is paid for services. In order to fulfill such an obligation, fiduciaries must be provided with information sufficient to enable them to make informed decisions about an employee benefit plan’s services, the costs of such services, and the service providers.

In her presentation at the SouthWest Benefits Association’s 2014 Plan Administrator Skills Workshop held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, McAfee & Taft employee benefits attorney Alison Patel provides participants with an understanding of federal regulations which make disclosure a prerequisite to the 408(b)(2) exemption for arrangements between a covered plan and covered service provider. Topics include:

• Timing of disclosures
• How to avoid a compliance failure and excise tax assessment
• Three main disclosure areas
• Responsibilities of plan fiduciaries in dealing with disclosures