Agencies Extend Comment Period on SECURE 2.0 Reporting and Disclosure Rules

The Treasury Department, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) have announced that they are extending the period during which they will accept comments on the effectiveness of existing reporting and disclosure requirements for retirement plans. 

The agencies had issued a joint request for information (RFI) in January, seeking such public input. The original deadline for comments was April 22, 2024; the agencies now are extending that deadline to May 22, 2024.
 

About the RFI 

The RFI arose in the first place because of Section 319 of the SECURE 2.0 Act, which directed the DOL, Treasury, and PBGC to review the existing requirements under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and report back to Congress. 

The RFI includes 24 questions on a topics relevant to effective reporting and disclosure. These include:

• the number and frequency of disclosures workers received;
• information disclosed and its effectiveness, accessibility and understandability, including to non-English speakers;
• how plans obtain and update contact information for workers; 
• plans’ experiences completing and filing reports; and 
• what plans experienced in obtaining assistance from the agencies.  

Why the Extension? 

Since the publication of the RFI in the Federal Register in January, interested parties have expressed concern with their ability to respond fully to the RFI by April 22, the original deadline.

This is because of the breadth of the topics and the significant number of questions the DOL, IRS, and PBGC raised in the RFI. Those parties said that it would take “significant work” to consider those topics adequately and prepare meaningful responses to the agencies’ questions. 

Submitting Comments 

Comments must be received by May 22, 2024. 

Comments are to be identified by RIN 1210–AC09 and may be submitted to one of these addresses:

• Electronically: send a comment to the federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. http://www.regulations.gov
• By mail: Address a comment to “Attention: Comment Extension; Request for Information – SECURE 2.0 Section 319 – Effectiveness of Reporting and Disclosure Requirements,” Office of Regulations and Interpretations, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N–5655, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210.

How They Will Use the Data 

After they complete their review, the DOL, IRS and PBGC have until Dec. 29, 2025 to report to Congress concerning the effectiveness of the reporting and disclosure requirements. The report is to include recommendations on consolidating, simplifying, standardizing, and improving reporting and disclosure requirements in order to reduce compliance burdens and improve service for plan participants and beneficiaries.

The agencies call the feedback of commenters “an integral resource” in preparing their report for Congress.