Members of a House subcommittee have sent two retirement plan bills to the full House Education and Labor Committee.
The Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee, an arm of the House Education and Labor Committee, approved substitute versions of H.R. 1984, the 401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act of 2009, and H.R. 1988, the Conflicted Investment Advice Prohibition Act of 2009, by a 13-8 vote.
H.R. 1984, the CIAPA bill, would impose tighter restrictions on financial services companies that sell investment products to defined contribution retirement plans and also want to offer plan participants investment advice.
The bill would reverse regulations adopted by the Bush administration in January.
H.R. 1988, the 401(k) Fair Disclosure act, would require plan service providers to give sponsors and participants more information about plan fees.
"The lack of transparency in the 401(k) system is unacceptable and must end now," Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., the chairman of the subcommittee, says in a statement.