DoL Advisory Opinion Fee

[Guest SCHAEFM2]

Does anyone know what the fee is for obtaining a DoL Advisory Opinion Letter for a 401(k) Plan? I know in my case the fee for a Private Letter Ruling is $6,000, but I could not find anything on the DoL fees. Any help is much appreciated.

[Guest rmeigs]

Doesn't look like any one knows if there is a fee and, if so, what it is. Why not call the Employee Benefits Security Administration's Office of Regulations and Interpretations who handles them and ask -- try 1.866.444.3272.

[Guest SCHAEFM2]

After verifying with my regional EBSA office and the National Office of Interpretations and Regulations, I verified that there is no fee to obtain a DoL Advisory Opinion letter. Thanks for the number, Rick. I appreciated your help.

[BFree]

What types of things do you get advised on in an advisory letter?

[Guest SCHAEFM2]

In our case, we are seeking approval to allow retirees who have taken lump sum distributions from the plan to roll these balances back into the plan at a later date. (Why would anyone want to do this? Our plan has a very attractive investment option only available to qualified plans - not to individuals. It is a GIC currently paying 6.5%. No, that's not a typo - 6.5%.) Our area, as the in house benefits counsel, is somewhat hoping that our request is not granted. Think of the potential consequences: coverage testing, contacting all of the retirees to inform them of this new option, etc. However, our benefits planning area really wants to offer this so in an effort to provide good customer service, we will see if such an option exists.

To answer your question, I believe an Advisory Opinion provides guidance from the DoL similar to the way a Private Letter Ruling provides guidance from the IRS. I believe they would advise on similar issues.