Retirement plan electronic delivery (e-delivery) may soon be the default method when a plan sponsor issues a retirement plan disclosure notice. This is predicated on the Department of Labor (DOL) acceptance of a recent proposal made by a group of industry organizations. As reported by a Planadviser, eight defined contribution (DC) plan industry organizations, including the Investment Company Institute (ICI) and The SPARK Institute, have sent a letter to the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the DOL asking it to propose regulations that would give plan sponsors permission to make retirement plan electronic delivery (or e-delivery) the default method of delivery for retirement plan disclosures and notices. If the regulations are passed, going forward, employees who did not want e-delivery would need to place a request to receive paper copies.

The industry correspondence states: “We would urge the Department to further prioritize electronic delivery as a part of any rulemaking to reduce costs and burdens, as outlined by the Executive Order… If finalized, those regulations would immediately make the retirement plan disclosures and notice more efficient and useful for retirement savers. Electronic delivery empowers retirement plan participants by providing them constant and real-time access to information about their retirement benefits and other online tools that can assist with retirement planning. It also could make disclosures and notices much less costly.”

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