The Duty to Explain: Fiduciary Intelligibility Under ERISA
By Ian Edwards This Essay examines whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) contains an emerging principle of fiduciary intelligibility within its participant disclosure framework. ERISA requires Summary Plan Descriptions (“SPDs”) to be written in a manner “calculated to be understood by the average plan participant.” While modern pension disclosure has become increasingly sophisticated and financially technical, this Essay argues that administrative and financial disclosure are not necessarily equivalent to fiduciary intelligibility. The Essay does not propose a...
