404(C): At 10 years old, safe-harbor rules prompt debate.(whether rules have become obsolete)

Pensions & Investments, March, 2001 by Jacobius, Arleen

WASHINGTON - A decade after the U.S. Department of Labor promulgated safe-harbor regulations, industry insiders debate whether the Section 404(c) rules still spur defined contribution plan sponsors to provide more comprehensive investment education to participants or whether the rules have become obsolete.

``It was such an incredible effort by the Department of Labor and a tremendous amount of activity involved in getting those regulations published, with all of the players very involved in coming out with the whole scheme, and 10 years later the regulations are virtually irrelevant,'' said David Wray, president of the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America, Chicago. That's because most plans already do what the regulations require and have moved on to other...

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