Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act Introduced in Senate
December 13, 2007
On Thursday December 13th, Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) introduced their Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act of 2007. This is the first Senate bill to address the retirement plan fee disclosure issues; it covers only ERISA plans and so would not directly affect state and local government 457 plans. While Senators Harkin and Kohl began their drafting based on the 401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act of 2007 (H.R. 3185) from House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-MA), they did make a significant number of modifications to address concerns raised by plans sponsors and service providers. For example, the bill does not mandate inclusion of an index fund in the investment menu and requires less detailed fee disclosure to both sponsors and participants than does the Miller bill.
In Senator Harkin’s floor statement he indicated his intention to work closely with the Department of Labor on its proposed regulations on this issue. He said that he “is not opposed to getting this done administratively.”
Additional Information
- View a draft of the bill.
- View the one-page summary of the legislation prepared by the Senate offices.
- Read Senator Harkin's floor statement.