Pension Protection Act regulatory guidance

The Department of Labor, last Wednesday, issued some initial guidance on the “periodic pension benefits statements” which are soon to be required employers & others under the new Pension Protection Act of 2006, generally applicable to plans commencing after the first of the year.

Section 508(a) of the Pension Protection Act amends ERISA section 105, making significant changes to pension benefit statement requirements for both individual account and defined benefit plans, which raised a number of interpretive & compliance issues.

The Department of Labor issued this generalized guidance “in recognition of expressed concerns, including the fact that major changes in what, how, and when pension benefit statement information is furnished to participants & beneficiaries may, in the absence of regulatory guidance from DOL, result in plan sponsors, or participants & beneficiaries incurring excessive or unnecessary compliance costs.”

DOL guidance bulletin @ http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/regs/fab_2006-3.html