Site offering inside view of 401(k)s could be boon to advisers

Now that you have delivered the required 401(k) fee disclosure documents to your plan sponsor clients, the real challenge begins: Explaining what you do to earn your money. On July 1, retirement plan providers were required to notify employers how much is being charged for managing employee retirement plans. It will be good practice for the next hurdle: Helping plan sponsors deliver and explain new fee disclosure information to their participants. Employers must disclose to employees by August 30 how much employer-sponsored retirement plans are costing them. If you could use a little help explaining all the moving parts of a retirement plan, its players, what they charge and why, Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc. has some answers. Guardian launched a new website (http://guardian.sharefc.com/index.html#home.html) to help plan sponsors and plan participants navigate the increasingly complex 401(k) marketplace. Anyone – individuals or advisers --can use it for free, even if they don't have an affiliation with Guardian. “Simply providing a statement without any explanation has the potential to confuse and frustrate plan participants,” said Jason Frain, Guardian's vice president of 401(k) Product Management and Development, Retirement Solutions. “The website educates the consumer by providing information on not only the fees they are paying but the services and value that different players involved in administering a 401(k) provide.” The Guardian website includes a host of videos, tool and educational resources, including descriptions of the various service providers and specialists associated with the administration of 401(k) plans and what they do; interactive annotated statements and comparative charts to help participants understand the information they will receive; definitions of key terms; and general retirement planning education and tips. It may be just the inspiration you need. For a more in-depth look at how some advisers are coping with the first phase of the fee disclosure rules, see Darla Mercado's article, New Deadline Looms for Retirement Plan 401(k) Fee Disclosures.