DOL’s 401(k) Rule Would Give Workers Key Information

ICI Supports Consistent, Comprehensive Data for All Investment Options

Washington, DC, September 9, 2008 - The Department of Labor’s proposed rules for 401(k) plan disclosure will significantly improve the quality of the information that workers are provided to make crucial decisions about retirement savings, and have the strong support of the fund industry, the Investment Company Institute said today.

In a comment letter, ICI praised the Department’s initiative, which would require that participants and beneficiaries in all self-directed defined contribution plans receive basic and comparable information on all the investment options available to them in their plan.

“The Department’s proposal will provide investors with key information to make important decisions on how to invest for retirement,” said ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens. “Taken together with the Department’s other disclosure reforms, it completes a package that comprehensively addresses concerns about fee and investment information involved in 401(k) plans.”

ICI encouraged the Department to retain several features of the proposal that will help assure that the disclosure is useful to participants. ICI praised the proposal for ensuring that disclosures do not focus solely on 401(k) fees and establishing a baseline disclosure of key information for all investments offered in 401(k) and other self-directed plans. The letter made several suggestions to further improve the proposal and emphasized the importance of retaining provisions ensuring that the rule changes apply to all.

The participant disclosure rule is the third major plan disclosure initiative undertaken by the Department. ICI has worked closely with the Department and other interested parties to ensure that workers who participate in plans and employers who sponsor them receive complete and clear information they need.

ICI is the national association for investment companies, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts.