The Standard®

Fee Disclosure

Overview

The Department of Labor (DOL) highly regulates the retirement plan offered by your employer. In October 2010, the DOL published regulations requiring employers to disclose specific plan fees and investment information to you so that you can be more informed about your investment choices.

As of spring 2012, fee detail will appear:

Fees are not new. They are a routine part of any investment vehicle and cover expenses associated with offering investments and providing administration. Please see the Details tab for further explanation of the types of fees you pay.

The Standard has always been committed to being transparent regarding retirement plan fees and will continue to support the DOL’s goal of full and clear fee disclosure.

The Standard has been planning for fee disclosure and is working with your employer to ensure you will have the information required by the new regulations. Please review the Details tab along with the resource under Related Information for specifics about the information your employer needs to disclose to you.

Details

Fee Disclosure Details

As of spring 2012, fee detail will appear:

There are two types of fees associated with your retirement plan:

  • Administrative fees that involve services that directly benefit you, such as the Personal Savings Center website where you can manage your account online, your quarterly statement, and enrollment and educational materials. These fees also cover the administration of the plan, such as recordkeeping, investment and consulting guidance, and regulatory compliance and plan audits (which is required)
  • Investment fees, which cover a variety of investment management services, such as buying and selling stocks and bonds within mutual funds, regularly monitoring mutual funds, and allocating the interest earnings every day

Your quarterly statements will show:

  • The dollar amount of any administrative expenses charged to your account including a general description of the services related to the charge (e.g., plan-level administrative fees)
  • The dollar amount of any investment-related expenses reflecting each charge assessed during the quarter and a description of the services (e.g., transaction-level loan processing fees)

Quarterly statements outlining administrative fees will look similar to the following sample:

Administrative Fees


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Annual statements displaying investment fees will look similar to the following samples. (Note: How investment fees are presented may vary depending on your plan design.)

Investment Fees


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You will also be provided with:

  • A website where you can get specific additional information about your investment options
  • A glossary of terms (or a website address with access to such a glossary) that can assist you in understanding the plan's investment options
  • Upon your request, prospectuses, financial reports and statements of valuation and of assets held by an investment option

If you have any questions about fee disclosure, please do not hesitate to call your pension consultant or benefits administrator.

The Standard is the marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. StanCorp Equities, Inc., member FINRA, distributes group annuity contracts issued by Standard Insurance Company and may provide other brokerage services. Third-party administrative services are provided by Standard Retirement Services, Inc. Investment advisory services are provided by StanCorp Investment Advisers, Inc., a registered investment advisor. StanCorp Equities, Inc., Standard Insurance Company, Standard Retirement Services, Inc., and StanCorp Investment Advisers, Inc. are subsidiaries of StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. and all are Oregon corporations.

Related Information

  • What You Need to Know About Retirement Plan Fees (PDF; 3.0 MB)