Benefit Statement Guidance
Rev. 10/26/07, E-mail Alert 2007-14

The various statement providers have been working hard to comply as best as possible with the good-faith compliance rules of FAB 2006-3 while awaiting the release of the final statement guidance and the DOL’s model benefit statements. In the meantime, plans with only employer directed investments, many of which are balance forward plans, were provided with needed relief.

In FAB 2007-3, the DOL provided that individual account plans that do not permit participant direction of investments may furnish the annual statements to participants by the deadline for providing the Form 5500, including extensions. Thus, instead of 45 days after the close of the calendar year, the new deadline is potentially the 15th day of the 10th month after the close of the plan year. It is important to note that when the guidance was first issued, we commented on what we thought was an error of tying the statements to the calendar year even for off-calendar year plans. The DOL apparently heard us, because the FAB reflects the plan year as we suggested it should. We will continue to keep you posted as additional guidance is issued.

Click here for FAB 2007-3.