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FINANCIAL FOCUS


Your retirement plan New rules will have fiduciary impact


Next year, new federal rules requiring fee disclosures from 401(k) plan providers make it imperative for companies sponsoring plans to ensure that fees are reasonable. Dentists who start preparing now for the new disclosures will be ahead of the game.


Although the new rules and upcoming changes to fiduciary standards will ultimately benefit plans, they will create a new burden of accountability for employers and increase the workload for you and your staff.


Dentists sponsoring 401(k) plans have long been responsible for ensuring that fees are reasonable. Yet the amounts of these fees have not been easily accessible to employers or employees—until now. Beginning next year, new rules from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) require that 401(k) plan providers use an easily understandable format to automati- cally disclose all fees for plans and investments in the plans. When employees receive their account statements, some may be surprised or even angry to learn how much money is being deducted from their accounts to pay for investment management fees. And much to their surprise, they will learn that they’ve actually been paying for the plan itself.


Although the new rules and upcoming changes to fiduciary standards will ultimately benefit plans, they will create a new burden of accountability for employers and increase the workload for you and your staff. As these rules supply the missing piece of the fee puzzle, em- ployers will no longer have an excuse for fail- ing to fulfill their duties regarding fees under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which effectively prohibits employ- ers from entering into arrangements involving unreasonably high fees.


The new rules have teeth, and enforcement will be rigorous; the DOL is preparing to hire thousands of new agents to conduct compli- ance audits. Violations can bring severe fines,


42 focus | NOV/DEC 2011


and even if a violation is not found, merely responding to a DOL investigation or employee complaint is costly in time, productivity and money. Should there be any substance to the complaint, a dentist could be liable for damages from lawsuits brought by employees, as ERISA requires plan fiduciaries to steadfastly put participating employ- ees’ interests ahead of their own. This role carries considerable responsibility and risk, including signifi- cant regulatory and legal liability.


These changes are coming, and the risk of an audit is increasing, however, there exists a so- lution to assist Missouri dentists. The solution is the MDIS Multiple Employer Plan (MEP). This plan allows Missouri dentists the opportunity to outsource much of these administrative du- ties in addition to transferring their fiduciary liability to MDIS. Once you have adopted the MDIS plan, you no longer have to try to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of retire- ment plan administration.


While the MEP benefits noted above are sig- nificant by themselves, there are other benefits too. Over the past two years dentists joining the plan also have experienced a reduction in administrative costs as well as other enhance- ments to their plan.


To avoid becoming the target of lawsuits and regulatory sanctions, dentists must act now to make the extensive preparations necessary to deal with the new DOL rules. The first step is to conduct a full plan review—the time is now for your retirement plan checkup.


TO SET UP A COMPLIMENTARY REVIEW, please contact Bret Sinak or Ron Portell with the Endeavor Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (800-966-4407 or theendeavorgroup@mssb.com). The Endeavor Group is the endorsed partner of MDIS for both the MDIS Multiple Employer Plan and comprehensive Wealth Management Services.


Lower debit card


processing rates for members using ADA, MDA endorsed Chase Paymentech


Members who accept debit cards as payment may notice a change in their processing rates. As of October 1, 2011 new debit interchange rates went into effect, as required under the Dodd- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (commonly referred to as the “Durbin Amendment”). These new rates may or may not affect members’ accounts. Dentists should note that this amendment only impacts debit card interchange rates.


The Durbin Amendment regulates rates of signature and PIN debit cards from is- suers with $10 billion in assets or higher. Such cards are referred to as “regulated.” Debit cards from issuers with less than $10 billion in assets as well as certain pre-paid cards and government-issued debit cards are considered “exempt” from the regulated rate. Additional informa- tion regarding the Durbin Amendment is at www.federalreserve.gov or contact your payment processor.


Peter Gasparro, Group Executive of Part- nership Programs at Chase Paymentech, the debit and credit card processing company endorsed by ADA Business Resources (and MDA), knows that the rate change will be good news for Chase Paymentech’s ADA member merchants. “We’re pleased that where possible the savings associated with these new debit card rates will be passed on to our merchants. We strongly value our relationship with the ADA and the dental practices we serve.”


To learn more about Chase Paymentech and savings, call 800-618-1666 or visit www.bestpaymentprocessing.com/ada.


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