Think that it's too hard to find, or even understand, the fees and expenses on your 401(k) retirement plan? So does the government.
That's why the Labor Department has proposed a new rule that would make it easier for those with 401(k) retirement plans and their employers to locate just what fees and expenses are attached.
The rule would update a 2012 one on the same subject. But many disclosure forms offered since then have become too lengthy, complex and confusing, department officials said.
"Some are filled with legalese, some have information that's split between multiple documents," said Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary for the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration. A fee disclosure statement of no more than a page or two is envisioned.
Borzi said the goal is to do something that's helpful to plan sponsors and participants and not overly burdensome.
She likened the new disclosure forms to "a road map" that can help employers locate fee information and better understand what they are being charged by financial services providers.