Recently, the Department of Labor issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2012-02 (FAB 2012-02), which provides additional guidance in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the new retirement plan participant fee disclosure regulations.  The initial disclosure of plan and investment- related information under the participant fee disclosure rules must generally be made by August 30, 2012.  The first quarterly statement under the new rules must generally be provided to participants by November 14, 2012. 

The additional guidance provides helpful insight on a number of issues regarding the participant fee disclosure requirements raised by plan practitioners since the issuance of the final participant fee disclosure regulation on October 20, 2010.  FAB 2012-02 is also helpful with regard to the covered service provider disclosure requirements finalized on February 3, 2012.  Specifically, FAB 2012-02 provides guidance with regard to the requirement of covered service providers to provide plan fiduciaries with the information needed to meet their participant fee disclosure obligations. 

The DOL has recognized the difficulty in making system and other changes to comply with FAB 2012-02 in time for the initial participant disclosures on August 30, 2012.  As such, the DOL states in FAB 2012-02 that enforcement of the new guidance will generally be unnecessary as long as a plan administrator acts in “good faith” based upon a “reasonable” interpretation of the final regulations and has a future plan for complying with the guidance of FAB 2012-12.