401(k) FIDUCIARY FILE DOL Issues Missing Retirement Plan Participant Guidance (Finally) THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR issued long-awaited guidance on missing retirement plan participants in January, calling it part of its effort to help plan fiduciaries meet their obligations under ERISA to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing or non-responsive participants. The guidance is in three forms: * Best Practices for Pension Plans describes a range of best practices fiduciaries of retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans, should consider as steps their plan could take to help reduce missing participant issues and ensure plan participants receive promised benefits when they reach retirement age. * Compliance Assistance Release 2021-01 outlines the general investigative approach that will guide all of EBSA's Regional Offices under the Terminated Vested Participants Project and facilitate voluntary compliance efforts by plan fiduciaries; and * Field Assistance Bulletin 2021-01 authorizes, as a matter of enforcement policy, plan fiduciaries of terminating defined contribution plans use of the PBGC missing participant program for missing or non-responsive participant's account balances. 4 Reforms to Stem Fiduciary Lawsuits FOR ANYONE SICK OF Jerry Schlichter and his shenanigans, insurer Euclid Specialty suggests four reforms to " restore fairness and balance to the fiduciary liability regulatory framework for retirement plan fiduciaries: " 1. The DOL should establish a uniform standard of care. " Ad-hoc negligence standards was not the intent of ERISA. To the contrary, ERISA was enacted to replace state-by-state regulation with a comprehensive regulatory framework. " 2. Federal courts must apply consistent legal standards across all cases. " Plan sponsors deserve a consistent and predictable standard for weeding out the many copy-cat meritless cases in which new law firms are chasing a business model of suing defined contribution plans to leverage an easy settlement. " 3. Courts should cap damages and limit attorney fees. " The damages model of $25 million to $200 million in most lawsuits is not congruent for a claim of simple negligence, " and " Attorney fees should be capped. " 4. Recordkeepers and investment providers should accept responsibility if they do charge excessive fees and refund participants. " If there was any wrongdoing ... it is the recordkeeper or investment manager that should bear the burden of reimbursing plan participants for alleged excessive fees. " 12 ISSUE 1 2021 | 401kSpecialist.com © Photovs | Dreamstime.com © Weerapat Wattanapichayakul | Dreamstime.comhttp://www.Dreamstime.com http://www.Dreamstime.com http://www.401kSpecialist.com