The Department of Labor, the Department of Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) (collectively, “the agencies”) jointly released a Request for Information (“RFI”) seeking information regarding the effectiveness of the reporting and disclosure requirements for retirement plans as required under by section 319 of the SECURE 2.0 Act. The request for information can be found at RFI.

Background

The SECURE 2.0 Act was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 and signed into law on December 29, 2022. Section 319 of the SECURE 2.0 Act requires the agencies to issue a report to Congress on the effectiveness of reporting and disclosure obligations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, that pertain to pension plans, and of the Internal Revenue Code that pertain to qualified plans, not later than three (3) years after the date of enactment.

The RFI includes 24 questions on a broad range of topics relevant to effective reporting and disclosure. The questions are divided so that some are from the perspective of plan participants and some from the perspective of plans, plan administrators, and plan service providers. Some of these topics include:

• Number and frequency of disclosures received by workers.
• Information disclosed and its effectiveness, accessibility, and understandability, including to non-English speakers.
• How plans obtain and update contact information for workers.
• Plans’ experiences completing and filing reports and obtaining assistance from the agencies. 

CHEIRON OBSERVATION: This RFI makes it clear that the agencies are not seeking comments with respect to the annual information return (Form 5500) as that has an ongoing annual request for comments. The focus is on disclosures to plan participants and other reports to the agencies. Information submitted in connection with audits, investigations, ruling requests, determination requests and similar requests is not considered as a reporting requirement for purposes of the RFI.

RFI Comments Due by April 22, 2024.

Any party wishing to file comments must submit them on or before April 22, 2024. Comments may be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov and reference RIN 1210-AC09. Comments may be mailed to Attention:  Request for Information—SECURE 2.0 Section 319—Effectiveness of Reporting and Disclosure Requirements.’’ Office of Regulations and Interpretations, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N–5655, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210.

Cheiron is an actuarial consulting firm that provides actuarial and consulting advice. However, we are neither attorneys nor accountants. Accordingly, we do not provide legal services or tax advice.