With the one-year anniversary of the new retirement plan disclosure regulation nearing, financial professionals continue to face questions about the reasonableness of fees they charge.

A new guide from the Principal Financial Group® Top 10 Questions and Answers to Help You Address Changes to Section 408(b)(2) of ERISA helps financial professionals answer common questions from plan sponsor clients about compensation.

"The regulation sparked renewed interest in understanding the value received from service providers--including financial professionals--and that is a good thing," said Tim Minard, senior vice president of distribution at The Principal®. "We all want plan sponsors to understand the fees they pay. By being prepared to answer questions in advance, financial professionals can spend less time alleviating plan fiduciary concerns and more time working with clients to meet plan goals."

The new guide helps financial professionals:

  • Prepare for questions they may receive as a covered service provider if the Department of Labor (DOL) audits the plan and asks the plan sponsor questions around compensation and reasonableness of the service arrangement.
  • Clarify the different roles they play, dispel misconceptions and explain the value and quality of their services.
  • Ensure the fees charged by their firm are effectively evaluated against those of comparable providers.

"The new DOL disclosure rules are an opportunity for financial professionals to reiterate the importance of the services they provide and ensure their fees remain competitive and transparent," said Minard.

The new guide is the latest in a series of resources to help financial professionals and their clients evaluate the reasonableness of fees, which include:

  • Assessing Retirement Plan Value, a comprehensive online resource to help understand and evaluate retirement plan fees, services and overall value.
  • Fee Reasonableness Review Checklist, a sample template financial professionals can share with plan fiduciaries to help guide them through the evaluation process.

For more news and insights from The Principal, connect with us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ThePrincipal.

About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)1 is a global investment management leader offering retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management. The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through its diverse family of financial services companies. Founded in 1879 and a member of the FORTUNE 500®, the Principal Financial Group has $456.1 billion in assets under management2 and serves some 19.1 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.

Insurance products and plan administrative services are provided by Principal Life Insurance Company a member of the Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®), Des Moines, IA 50392.

1 "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
2 As of March 31, 2013.

The Principal Financial Group
Terri Hale, 515-283-8858
hale.terri@principal.com
or
Sonja Sorrel, 515-362-2431
sorrel.sonja@principal.com