[25748]
December 27, 2011
TO: BANK, TRUST AND RETIREMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE No. 81-11BROKER/DEALER ADVISORY COMMITTEE No. 86-11 RE: SAMPLE GLOSSARY FOR USE IN MEETING DOL PARTICIPANT DISCLOSURE RULES
ICI and the SPARK Institute developed the attached sample glossary of investment-related terms for purposes of the DOL regulation under ERISA section 404(a)(5) requiring disclosure of certain plan and investment-related information to participants in participant-directed defined contribution plans. [1] Those regulations require plan administrators to provide participants with a general glossary of terms to assist in understanding the plan’s designated investment alternatives, or a website where the glossary is located.
Members of the ICI Pension Committee and Pension Operations Advisory Committee, and their colleagues, provided valuable input during the development of the sample glossary. We are making the sample glossary publicly available on ICI’s website, at http://www.ici.org/401k/11_401k_glos. The terms defined in the glossary apply to a wide range of plans and investments and the definitions are written in plain language wherever possible. ICI members and anyone else using the sample glossary may modify it by adding terms or changing definitions, as appropriate.
The glossary was developed by ICI and SPARK, and endorsed by the American Benefits Council, American Council of Life Insurers, American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries, and Society for Human Resource Management.
Elena Barone Chism
Associate Counsel
endnotes
[1] See Memorandum to Pension Members No. 49-10, Transfer Agent Advisory Committee No. 76-10, Bank, Trust and Recordkeeper Advisory Committee No. 49-10, Broker/Dealer Advisory Committee No. 56-10, and Operations Committee No. 37-10 [24702], dated November 11, 2010.