Private Pensions: Clarity of Required Reports and Disclosures Could Be Improved.

摘要

The private sector pension system in the United States represents trillions of dollars in assets and is a key source of financial security for millions of Americans. To promote transparency and enhance retirement security, legislation and regulations require that plan sponsors provide numerous reports to Labor, IRS, and PBGC, and numerous disclosures to plan participants. GAO was asked to review this system of private sector pension plan reporting and disclosure. In this report, GAO examined (1) the reports and disclosures pension plans are required to make to government agencies and plan participants; (2) the ways, if any, reports to agencies may be inefficient or ineffective, and (3) the ways, if any, disclosures to participants may be inefficient or ineffective. In conducting this work, GAO reviewed relevant statutes and regulations; analyzed inquiries to Labor's participant help line; assessed certain disclosures for readability when evaluated against criteria based on federal plain language guidelines; and interviewed agency officials, plan sponsor representatives, service providers, and participant advocates.