Pension Fees And Charges: Current Issues in US and UK

PENSION FEES AND CHARGES: CURRENT ISSUES IN US AND UK

IPEBLA Webinar, 29 April 2015, (90 minutes)

Join us for a discussion on the latest developments in the USA and the UK on pension fees and charges. In the USA, the failure to ensure the reasonableness of fees have led to a number of multimillion dollar class action lawsuits against funds. In the UK, new rules effective 6 April 2015 will introduce similar requirements in work place DC schemes to meet governance and fee concerns.      

This webinar will be conducted in English. 

* A replay will be available on the IPEBLA website after the webinar

Programme:

JEFF MAMORSKY: USA: PLAN GOVERNANCE PROCEDURES AND MANAGING TRANSPARENCY RISKS TO AVOID HIDDEN FEE LITIGATION

Best Practice Plan Governance Procedures

• Prudent internal control process between plan sponsor and third party administrator to ensure that plan is operating compliant with plan document and all legal requirements
• Transparency controls to identify “hidden” expenses and assess reasonableness of fees

Transparency of Plan Fees and Expense Disclosure

• U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Plan expense audit initiative and DOL regulations requiring disclosure of service provider direct and indirect compensation

Hidden Fee Litigation

• Review of major class action lawsuits in U.S. with top ten settlements totaling $1.31 billion in 2014

JANE MARSHALL: UK: PENSION FEES AND CHARGES: RISK AND CURRENT ISSUES IN THE UK

Growing visibility of pensions as live issue

• Continuing decline of private sector DB and growth of contract based DC
• Auto enrolment extension to smaller employers
• Pension ‘freedoms’ with effect 6 April 2015

Fees and charges under the spotlight

• The push for value and transparency - the ‘governance gap’ in contract based DC
• Various reports highlighting investment management charges and impact on returns and cost

Major changes in work place DC schemes to meet governance and fee concerns

• New FCA rules with effect 6 April 2015
• The charge cap: what it covers and what it doesn’t
• Further changes to charging practices
• Compliance and review

Charges in DB schemes

• Do trustees understand the fees they are being charged?
• Does it matter?
• Trustee duties

Length of Webinar:

The panel discussion will run for approximately 60 minutes, followed by a 20 to 30 minute question and answer session.

This presentation will be added to the IPEBLA website, and can be viewed with a password. The replay will include the presentation and questions and answers but will not include an opportunity to ask questions.

Webinar Format:

Participants will dial in to hear the audio portion of the presentation, and log into a program on their computer where they can watch the presentation slides live on their screen. Those who have signed up for the webinar will receive an electronic confirmation with dial-in instructions, log-in instructions, and any other materials the speakers prepare for the call.

For those joining the live discussion, you will have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers. For those joining the replay, you will hear the replay and the question and answer session.