Bloggers and financial planning professionals are talking about the DOL’s upcoming requirement to disclose details about administrative fees for 401(k) plans. July 1 is the date that sets all of the wheels in motion regarding fee disclosures. Right now, you can plan ahead and be ready, and make any adjustments you feel are needed for your plan. The DOL has a worksheet that takes you through a series of steps to determine the fees you pay. Using this worksheet will give you clarity about your fees and ample time to prepare how to address the fees and present them to current employees and other plan participants. Here are the key dates to remember:

July 1 – Plan administrators and mutual funds must disclose details of administrative fees (direct and indirect compensation) in 401(k) plans.

August 30 – Plan administrators must furnish plan participants with a copy of the fees by this date.

November 14 – Date by which fees and expenses must appear on the quarterly statement for fees incurred from July to September, 2012.

With the information you uncover about your fees, you may want to consider benchmarking your plan against other plans with similar number of participants and assets. Having benchmark information will also help your justification of fees with employees. Remember that many employees are unaware of fees and will require justification because the fees affect their ultimate savings.

Many plan sponsors hire consultants to provide expert advice for Employee Benefit Plans. Because plan sponsors are ultimately responsible for all plan decisions, it’s important to fully understand a consultant’s qualifications. In addition, sponsors need to be aware of potential conflicts of interest. Here is a list of guidelines, summarized from an article by the Department of Labor.

1. Ask advisors if they are registered with the SEC or a state securities regulator, and have them provide appropriate disclosures.
2. Have advisors describe relationships with the money managers they use for making plan recommendations.
3. Find out if the consultant receives payments from money managers for recommendations.
4. Request written policies or procedures that address the issue of conflicts of interest when providing advice to clients.
5. Implement a system to track commissions and fees paid to ensure that over-payment does not occur.
6. Ask consultants to agree in writing that they are acting as a fiduciary for the designated plan.
7. Ask consultants about their arrangements with other clients to evaluate the objectivity of their recommendations.

Protecting yourself and your company will keep you in good standing with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Department of Labor.