On Defined Contribution Plans, U.S. Should Follow Other Countries: Report

This week U.S. defined contribution plan sponsors received a startling piece of news: At least four countries outside the U.S have better fee disclosure practices than those in the U.S. The report, issued by the General Accounting Office in March, reviewed best practices in hopes of enlightening U.S. retirement plan providers and regulators.

事实证明，即使与劳动部的新的期待期待的费用披露规则相比，预计今年晚些时候终于生效，澳大利亚和智利这样的国家可以更好地了解他们个人账户费用的计划参与者。

2012年3月的题为“界定缴费计划：其他国家的方法提供了乔治·米勒（D-CA），”教育委员会委员会委员会议员（代表员工员工）的一名职位的有利战略，和罗伯特安德鲁斯（D-NJ）是健康，就业，劳动和养老金的小组委员会的排名成员，也在代表院。米勒长期以来一直是中产阶级美国人退休收入保障的倡导者。

米勒和安德鲁斯有理由担心。养老金和退休行业专家知道，费用可以从计划参与者的最终节省储蓄中取得大量大叮咬。简单的数学使确定的贡献计划共同基金行业的指数增长，从1990年的350亿美元到今天的3万亿美元。他们也可能知道，在2010年10月的401（k）费用报告中，劳工部发现，费用的一百分点差异可以减少职业生涯结束时的退休金储蓄，高达28％。

麻烦的是，随着米勒和安德森也很了解，大多数计划参与者 - 超过5100万美国工人参加了401（k）型计划 - 绝对没有Clue他们在工作场所储蓄计划中支付哪些费用。

In fact, most plan participants are unaware that they are paying fees at all. A February 2011 survey conducted by the AARP found that 71 percent of 401(k) plan participants said they paid no fees.

The GAO report, which examined fee disclosure practices in Australia, Chile, Sweden and the United Kingdom, found that, “these countries have made disclosures simpler and more uniform to facilitate comparisons, and one has required that providers highlight the long-term impact of fees on participants’ account balances.”

“此外，”另外，“报告”，一些国家要求参与者收到有关他们在特定时间段内支付的总金额的个性化信息。“

Adding to the confusion among U.S. workers is the sheer multitude and complexity of fee schedules which include those for plan administration; sales charges or loads for buying or selling shares; fund management (also called investment advisory or account maintenance fees); and miscellaneous fees that encompass recordkeeping, toll-free numbers, investment advice, as well as additional fees for specialized products like target date funds and variable annuities.

高报告提供了最佳实践的例子，包括：

- 在智利，养老金机构官员评估DC系统的主要特征，例如服务提供商的个人账户管理以及服务提供者董事会的构成和作用。

- 在智利和澳大利亚，代理官员表示，使用基于风险的方法，使得养老金监管机构能够采取积极措施，以确保直流计划以参与者的最佳利益运作。这些国家使用基于风险的方法来监督服务提供商多年来，而DOL刚刚开始在监督美国计划和服务提供商的努力中制定基于风险的方法。

- 在瑞典和英国，合并行政职能消除了基金管理人员维护各个账户的必要性。两国服务提供商的代表表示，这种结构使他们能够显着降低他们的费用。

- For individuals who do not actively choose where to invest their contributions, some countries have established low-cost default options through a variety of measures, such as creating a nonprofit entity to run the default fund under a low-cost mandate, increasing the use of online services and eliminating marketing costs.

Rep. George Miller introduced legislation that, if passed, would provide workers with clear, understandable information on the fees that come out of workers’ pockets and would help workers understand their investment options. It passed the House of Representatives in 2010 but has not been reintroduced this year.

“保证隐藏401（k）费用的披露将为美国人提供加强退休并提高我们国家未来经济安全的战斗机会，”米勒在当时说。“我们需要确保401（k）秒以账户持有人的最佳利益为，而不是为了推动华尔街的底线。”

用行动呼吁政府问责总署报告的结论the Secretary of Labor on two fronts. First, to consider other countries’ experiences as the DoL continues its efforts to develop a risk-based approach in supervising defined contribution plans and their service providers, such as adopting risk-based oversight practices developed by the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors and used by the countries the GAO reviewed that have helped them better oversee their DC plans.

其次，为了考虑最近的国际举措，以提高收费透明度，以评估美国401（k）计划参与者的相关性和效用，例如提供总结和个性化费用信息的改进，并显示出费随时间的影响。

在一个乐观的票据上，DOL通常同意它监测其他国家与费用披露经验的建议。根据DOL发言人，作为新规则 - 该计划必须在2012年8月30日之后，与参与者的“计划级别”和“投资级别”信息（包括相关费用和费用）进行最初的年度披露 - Go生效，该部门将在未来监测其对可能的调整和改进的影响。