What Is a DOL Fact Sheet for a 401(k) Plan?

A DOL fact sheet is usually the fastest source to read and the wrong source to treat as self-sufficient.

EBSA's fact-sheet library contains retirement materials on:

• proposed regulations
• final regulations
• prohibited-transaction exemptions
• fiduciary practices
• enforcement programs
• reporting changes
• agency results
• statutory implementation.^[1]

That range tells you the central rule.

"Fact Sheet" describes presentation, not one fixed level of legal authority.

A two-page DOL summary can be excellent orientation.

It can also be:

• a proposal that never became the final rule
• a summary of a rule later amended
• a summary of a rule later vacated
• general fiduciary guidance rather than a safe harbor
• a small entity compliance guide tied to a regulation
• a statistical publication with little direct legal effect.

The title alone does not answer:

What does the plan have to do?

The underlying authority does.

What Is the Basic Job of a Fact Sheet?

Compression.

A rulemaking can run 50, 100 or 300 Federal Register pages.

A fact sheet reduces the material to:

• background
• who is affected
• major changes
• effective dates
• headline conditions
• examples
• contact information.

That is useful because most fiduciaries do not need to read the entire administrative record every time they need to understand a new development.

The compression creates risk.

What gets removed may include:

• definitions
• exceptions
• cross-references
• transition provisions
• limiting conditions
• special rules
• recordkeeping details
• facts that determine coverage.

The fact sheet may accurately describe the structure while being too abbreviated to serve as the actual compliance checklist.

Is a DOL Fact Sheet a Regulation?

No.

A regulation becomes operative through the applicable rulemaking process and appears in the Code of Federal Regulations.

A fact sheet can explain that regulation.

It does not become the regulation.

That means:

Fact sheet says X

is not enough when:

current CFR says X only if A, B, C and D are satisfied.

The conditions matter.

A 401(k) plan should use the fact sheet to find the right legal source.

Then read the source.

Can a Fact Sheet Describe a Proposed Rule?

Yes.

DOL's September 2006 QDIA fact sheet is a clean example.^[2]

The page explains that EBSA had:

proposed a regulation

implementing the Pension Protection Act's default-investment provisions.^[2]

It then summarizes the proposal's conditions and categories of qualified default investment alternatives.

A reader landing on that page today can see official DOL language about:

• default investments
• diversification
• transfer restrictions
• employer securities
• target-date funds
• balanced funds
• managed accounts.

The dangerous move is to copy those conditions into a 2026 compliance manual without noticing the word:

proposed.

What Happened After the 2006 QDIA Proposal?

DOL finalized the QDIA regulation in October 2007.

EBSA later published an April 2008 fact sheet describing the final regulation.^[3]

That later fact sheet explains a final framework including conditions involving:

• participant opportunity to direct investments
• advance and annual notices
• furnishing investment materials
• transfer rights
• fee limitations
• broad investment alternatives
• the continuing duty to prudently select and monitor the QDIA.^[3]

The proposal evolved.

That is normal rulemaking.

The lesson is not:

old DOL pages are bad.

The lesson is:

status matters before substance.

Which QDIA Source Controls Today?

Current:

29 CFR 2550.404c-5.^[4]

That is where a 2026 QDIA analysis should begin.

The 2006 proposal fact sheet is useful for:

• history
• original policy
• proposal structure.

The 2008 final-rule fact sheet is useful for:

• orientation
• summary
• understanding the final rule as then adopted.

The current CFR is the operational source.

Later statutes, amendments, cases and guidance also need to be checked.

A plan does not preserve safe-harbor protection because it followed a 2008 summary if the current regulation requires something different.

Why Would DOL Leave a Proposal Fact Sheet Online?

Because historical materials remain useful.

A researcher may need to know:

• what DOL originally proposed
• how the final rule changed
• what issue generated public comments
• what policy choices were considered.

Deleting the proposal would make that history harder to reconstruct.

The problem is not preservation.

The problem is treating preserved history as current law.

The same principle applies to:

• withdrawn proposals
• vacated rules
• superseded guidance
• archived forms
• old thresholds.

Online does not mean operative.

Can a Final-Rule Fact Sheet Become Stale?

Yes.

The 2024 Retirement Security fact sheet proves it.^[6]

On April 23, 2024, DOL published a fact sheet explaining its new investment-advice fiduciary rule and amendments to several prohibited-transaction exemptions.^[6]

The fact sheet described the rule as final.

At that moment, that was accurate.

It listed an effective date of September 23, 2024 and explained the new fiduciary framework and exemption changes.^[6]

Then litigation changed the legal status.

Federal courts ultimately vacated the rule and associated PTE amendments.^[7][8]

By 2026, the fact sheet describes a rulemaking that no longer supplies the operative fiduciary definition.

Does That Mean the 2024 Fact Sheet Was Wrong?

Not when issued.

That distinction matters.

A source can be:

accurate on April 23, 2024

and:

wrong as a 2026 current-law checklist.

Legal research is temporal.

Rules can be:

• stayed
• vacated
• amended
• delayed
• replaced
• restored
• superseded by statute.

The older source does not rewrite itself.

The researcher has to update the conclusion.

What Does DOL Say About the Retirement Security Rule Now?

DOL's current Retirement Security tools page expressly states that the rule and associated PTE amendments were vacated by court order.^[7]

DOL then published a March 20, 2026 Federal Register action addressing the vacatur and restoring the longstanding regulatory text.^[8]

Current:

29 CFR 2510.3-21

again contains the long-standing five-part investment-advice fiduciary framework.^[9]

That means a 2026 memo should not cite the 2024 fact sheet for the proposition:

"This is the current fiduciary definition."

The fact sheet is now historical evidence of the 2024 rulemaking.

What Is the Research Lesson From the 2024 Fact Sheet?

Final does not mean permanent.

A compliance team often has a workflow like:

DOL issues final rule → legal team sends fact sheet → operations builds procedure → procedure stays in manual.

The weak point is the last step.

Every material rule-based operating procedure needs an update trigger for:

• litigation
• vacatur
• delayed effective date
• amendment
• agency rescission
• statutory change.

A fact sheet attached to the procedure should have a status field.

Without one, official government material can become the source of stale compliance.

Can a Fact Sheet Summarize a Current Rule and Exemption?

Yes.

DOL's May 2024 Abandoned Plan fact sheet is a strong example.^[10]

It explains amendments to the Abandoned Plan Program that expanded the framework to certain Chapter 7 bankruptcy situations and describes the associated PTE 2006-06 relief.^[10]

The fact sheet covers:

• abandonment standards
• qualified termination administrators
• Chapter 7 special rules
• missing-participant distributions
• the class exemption
• online filing.

That is useful operationally.

It still is not the source of:

• QTA authority
• the distribution safe harbor
• PTE relief.

Those come from the regulations and exemption.^[11][12][13]

Why Does the PTE Distinction Matter?

ERISA Section 406 can prohibit transactions involving conflicts and parties in interest.

Administrative relief has conditions.

If the fact sheet says:

"The exemption covers..."

that is a summary.

The legal question is:

Does this transaction satisfy the current exemption?

That requires the actual PTE text.

A fact sheet may omit:

• definitions
• exclusions
• recordkeeping
• timing
• fee standards
• special conditions
• limits on covered Section 406 provisions.

The shorter the summary, the less safe it is to infer relief beyond the words of the exemption.

Can a Fact Sheet Be General Fiduciary Guidance?

Yes.

The 2013 Target Date Retirement Funds — Tips for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries is one of the best 401(k)-specific examples.^[5]

DOL says it prepared the document as general guidance to help fiduciaries select and monitor TDFs and other investments.^[5]

The tips include practical steps such as:

• establish a process for comparing and selecting TDFs
• understand the fund's investments
• understand the glide path
• review fees
• inquire about custom or nonproprietary alternatives
• develop effective participant communications
• document the process
• review the fund periodically.^[5]

Those are useful fiduciary practices.

They are not a statutory eight-element TDF test.

Does Following the TDF Tips Prove Prudence?

No.

That would give the fact sheet more legal effect than it claims.

Imagine a committee:

• documents its process
• compares glide paths
• reviews fees
• considers custom alternatives
• sends good participant communications.

But it ignores:

• a persistent performance problem
• a serious conflict
• deficient manager resources
• an irrational asset allocation
• excessive total cost
• material changes in the fund.

The committee cannot say:

"We checked every box in the 2013 fact sheet, so the selection is prudent."

ERISA prudence remains fact-specific.

The tips improve process.

They do not immunize the result.

Can the TDF Fact Sheet Still Be Useful After 13 Years?

Yes.

Its age is a reason to validate, not a reason to discard.

Several core ideas remain durable:

• understand what the fund owns
• understand the glide path
• compare fees
• evaluate fit with participant characteristics
• monitor changes
• document the process.

What needs more scrutiny are market-specific assumptions and any statement tied to:

• old regulations
• industry structure
• product availability
• disclosure rules
• litigation developments.

A good researcher separates durable fiduciary process from time-sensitive detail.

What Is a Small Entity Compliance Guide?

This is where EBSA fact sheets become more interesting.

Many DOL fact sheets include a statement such as:

the information in this fact sheet constitutes a small entity compliance guide for purposes of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.^{[2][6][10][16]}

That is not random footer language.

SBREFA establishes a statutory framework for certain agency compliance guides.^[14][15]

For covered rules, agencies must publish one or more guides to help small entities understand how to comply.

The guide is supposed to be written in sufficiently plain language.

That explains why a short fact sheet may carry a formal compliance-guide designation.

Does "Small Entity Compliance Guide" Make the Fact Sheet a Regulation?

No.

SBREFA says the guide should explain actions a small entity is required to take to comply with the rule.^[14][15]

The rule remains the source of the legal requirement.

The guide explains it.

That distinction is reinforced by the statute's treatment of suggested procedures.

A guide may describe procedures that could help a small entity comply.

But SBREFA says compliance with those suggested procedures does not itself establish compliance or create a presumption or inference of compliance.^[14]

That is unusually clear.

Can a Small Entity Compliance Guide Add Requirements?

No.

SBREFA says procedures described as compliance assistance:

• are suggestions to assist small entities
• are not additional requirements
• may not diminish the requirements of the rule.^[14]

This matters.

Suppose a DOL guide says:

"A small plan may wish to perform an annual review using five specific steps."

If the regulation does not require exactly those five steps, the guide cannot convert them into new federal conditions merely through the compliance-guide designation.

A plan may adopt them as good practice.

That is different.

Does Following the Guide Guarantee Compliance?

No.

SBREFA expressly rejects that shortcut for suggested procedures.^[14]

A plan can follow the guide and still fail the rule if:

• the guide is simplified
• a condition is omitted
• the plan's facts trigger an exception
• a later amendment changes the rule
• the plan misapplies the procedure.

The safest structure is:

rule requirement → guide explanation → plan procedure → evidence that procedure actually satisfied the rule.

That sequence keeps the compliance guide in its proper role.

Does the Compliance-Guide Designation Have Any Legal Significance?

Yes.

It is not meaningless.

SBREFA states that a small entity compliance guide generally is not itself subject to judicial review.

But in a civil or administrative action against a small entity, the guide's content may be considered as evidence of the reasonableness or appropriateness of proposed:

• fines
• penalties
• damages.^[14][15]

That is a specific statutory consequence.

It still does not make the guide the rule.

Think of the distinction this way:

Substantive liability: governed by the applicable statute, rule and other law.

Penalty reasonableness: guide content may matter in the circumstances described by SBREFA.

Those are different questions.

Why Is That Distinction Useful to Small 401(k) Sponsors?

Because "nonbinding summary" is too simplistic.

A designated compliance guide may matter operationally and in enforcement context.

But the opposite claim is also wrong:

"DOL called it a compliance guide, therefore every sentence is enforceable as a regulation."

SBREFA itself prevents that leap.

The best reading is narrower:

• the guide has a recognized statutory compliance-assistance role
• it should explain covered requirements clearly
• suggested procedures cannot become new requirements
• following a suggestion alone does not prove compliance
• guide content can have limited relevance in penalty analysis.

That is more precise than calling it either:

binding

or:

meaningless.

Are All EBSA Fact Sheets Small Entity Compliance Guides?

Do not assume that.

Check the actual document.

Some EBSA fact sheets expressly contain the designation.

Others may not.

The legal classification follows the agency's designation and the applicable SBREFA framework, not the fact-sheet page template.

A compliance memo should quote the footer if the designation matters.

Do not infer it from:

Fact Sheet

alone.

Can a Fact Sheet Summarize a Prohibited-Transaction Exemption Amendment?

Yes.

DOL's fact sheet on the final amendment to PTE 84-14, the QPAM Exemption, does exactly that.^[16]

It summarizes major changes such as:

• notice
• disqualification-related provisions
• asset and equity thresholds
• independence concepts
• recordkeeping
• effective date.^[16]

That is useful.

The transaction still needs to satisfy the actual current PTE 84-14 conditions.

A financial institution should not build its exemption reliance from the fact sheet alone.

INV-173 and the PTE sequence explain why exemption conditions have to be read literally.

What If a Fact Sheet and the Rule Seem Inconsistent?

Read the rule first.

Then determine whether:

1. the fact sheet is simplifying
2. the fact sheet is older
3. the rule was amended
4. the fact sheet concerns a proposal
5. the fact sheet uses a shorthand category
6. litigation changed the rule
7. a transition rule explains the difference.

Do not force consistency by silently expanding or narrowing the operative text.

A summary is allowed to be incomplete.

A compliance conclusion is not.

What If the Fact Sheet Is Newer Than the Rule?

Newer does not automatically mean stronger.

A 2026 fact sheet may explain a 2020 regulation.

That can be helpful because DOL may reflect later implementation experience.

But unless the agency has validly amended the regulation or issued another applicable legal instrument, the fact sheet does not rewrite the CFR.

Chronology matters.

Legal form also matters.

Use both.

FAQ or Fact Sheet: Which Format Are You Reading?

The distinction is mostly presentation, but presentation can affect how a reader misuses the source.

A fact sheet usually compresses a subject into a structured summary.

An FAQ breaks the subject into discrete questions and answers.

Neither format has a fixed legal rank.

A proposed-rule fact sheet can describe law that is not yet final. An FAQ can communicate a consequential agency interpretation or enforcement position. INV-183 examines that problem in detail.

For either format, identify:

• the underlying legal source
• the intended audience
• the publication date
• the document's current status
• later legal developments.

The format tells you how DOL organized the explanation. It does not tell you how much authority the explanation carries.

Preamble or Fact Sheet: Use the Source That Fits the Question

A Federal Register preamble is part of a specific rulemaking document. It preserves the agency's reasoning, comments, rejected alternatives, examples and explanation of the final text.

A fact sheet strips most of that history away to show the headline result.

That makes the fact sheet faster and the preamble richer.

If the question is:

"Why did DOL reject the proposed alternative?"

read the preamble.

If the question is:

"What changed at a high level?"

the fact sheet may be the efficient starting point.

If the question is:

"What does the rule legally require today?"

neither summary nor preamble should replace the current CFR.

INV-181 explains how preambles fit into that hierarchy.

Advisory Opinions Answer Facts; Fact Sheets Explain Subjects

An advisory opinion under Procedure 76-1 applies ERISA to a defined factual situation involving identified parties.

A fact sheet generally addresses a topic, rule, program or policy for a broader audience.

That procedural difference is decisive.

The fact sheet does not create the Section 10 party-and-fact reliance framework discussed in INV-175.

A sponsor cannot cite:

Fact Sheet: Target Date Funds

and turn general fiduciary guidance into DOL approval of its own fund lineup.

The document never decided those facts.

Information Letters Have Procedure 76-1 Status; Fact Sheets Do Not

An information letter is a defined Procedure 76-1 response that generally calls attention to an established interpretation or principle without applying it to a particular factual situation.

A fact sheet can state the same kind of principle, but it reaches the reader through a different process and for a different purpose.

That means two documents may sound similar while carrying different procedural significance.

INV-182 explains the information-letter framework.

The useful comparison is not whether both documents are "general guidance." It is how each document was issued and what legal effect DOL assigned to it.

Field Assistance Bulletins Speak to Enforcement

A Field Assistance Bulletin is tied to EBSA's field-enforcement function and can tell investigators how to approach recurring issues or temporary enforcement problems.

A fact sheet normally communicates outward to plans, fiduciaries, service providers or the public.

A fact sheet may summarize a FAB, but the summary does not inherit the FAB's enforcement function.

If the real question is:

"Will EBSA pursue this violation under these conditions?"

read the actual FAB or other enforcement document.

The public-facing summary is not the best source for an enforcement boundary.

Interpretive Bulletins Carry Their Own Formal Identity

Interpretive Bulletins are formal agency interpretations, many codified in Part 2509.

A fact sheet may summarize an Interpretive Bulletin in plainer language. That does not convert the summary into the Bulletin itself.

For a legal proposition that depends on the agency's formal interpretation, cite the actual Interpretive Bulletin.

Use the fact sheet to understand it faster.

INV-179 covers the Bulletin format and its place in the DOL source hierarchy.

Worked Example: 2006 QDIA Fact Sheet Used in 2026

Recordkeeper's procedure manual says:

"A QDIA must satisfy the three investment categories listed in DOL's 2006 fact sheet."

Problem:

The source is explicitly a proposed-rule fact sheet.^[2]

DOL finalized the rule later and summarized the final regulation separately.^[3]

Correct response:

Replace the proposal checklist with current 29 CFR 2550.404c-5 and use the historical fact sheets only to explain development of the rule.^[4]

One word in the heading:

proposed

changes the entire legal use.

Worked Example: 2024 Fiduciary Fact Sheet Used After Vacatur

Adviser's compliance deck says:

"DOL's final Retirement Security Rule requires this fiduciary acknowledgment."

Its citation is the April 23, 2024 fact sheet.^[6]

By 2026, the cited rule and related amendments have been vacated.^[7][8]

Correct response:

Do not use the 2024 fact sheet as the current fiduciary-definition source. Start with current 29 CFR 2510.3-21 and current operative PTE text.^[9]

A source can have the word:

final

and still become historical.

Worked Example: QTA Uses the Abandoned-Plan Fact Sheet

A QTA follows the May 2024 Abandoned Plan fact sheet.

It understands the overall process but misses a condition in:

• 29 CFR 2578.1
• the distribution safe harbor
• PTE 2006-06.

The QTA argues:

"The fact sheet did not mention it."

That is weak.

The fact sheet is a summary.^[10]

The operative regulation and exemption control.^[11][12][13]

Good compliance uses the fact sheet as an index into the actual authority.

Worked Example: TDF Tips Become a House Rule

Committee policy says:

"ERISA requires us to consider custom TDFs every year because DOL's TDF fact sheet says to inquire about custom or nonproprietary alternatives."

That overstates the source.

The 2013 document presents general fiduciary tips.^[5]

A committee can adopt a policy to evaluate custom TDFs.

That may be sensible.

But it should say:

"Our fiduciary process includes this review."

Not:

"Federal law mandates this exact annual step."

Internal policy and federal requirement are not the same thing.

Worked Example: Small Employer Follows the Guide

A small employer uses a DOL fact sheet labeled a small entity compliance guide.

It follows every suggested step.

But the underlying regulation requires a notice by a specific deadline, and the employer sends it late.

The employer cannot establish compliance merely by saying:

"We followed the guide's suggested process."

SBREFA explicitly says suggested procedures do not establish compliance or create a presumption of compliance.^[14]

The actual rule still matters.

Worked Example: Guide Language in Penalty Analysis

Assume DOL pursues a small entity for a violation.

The entity shows that it acted consistently with language in the agency's designated small entity compliance guide.

SBREFA permits guide content to be considered in specified proceedings as evidence concerning the reasonableness or appropriateness of proposed fines, penalties or damages.^[14][15]

That does not erase the violation.

It may matter to consequence.

That is a more precise way to understand the statutory role.

The ROIStreet Fact Sheet Test

Before relying on an EBSA fact sheet, answer these questions.

1. What is the exact title?

Do not cite:

"DOL fact sheet."

Capture the full document identity.

2. What is the date?

Fact sheets often age faster than statutes.

3. Does it say proposed, final, interim or updated?

Those words are legal status signals.

4. What authority is being summarized?

Identify:

• statute
• CFR section
• PTE
• program
• enforcement policy
• general fiduciary guidance.

5. Is the underlying authority still current?

Check:

• current CFR
• current exemption
• later statute
• amendments
• judicial decisions
• agency status page.

6. Is the fact sheet a small entity compliance guide?

Look for the actual designation.

Do not infer it.

7. Is the sentence a requirement or a suggestion?

A guide can recommend procedures that do not become legal conditions.

8. Does the fact sheet omit conditions?

Compare it against the actual rule.

9. Are there current numbers or dates?

Recheck:

• thresholds
• limits
• deadlines
• effective dates
• contact procedures.

10. What should the committee cite first?

Usually:

current legal source first, fact sheet second.

That is the discipline.

A Practical Source Hierarchy

For a 401(k) question involving a DOL fact sheet:

1. Statute

What did Congress enact?

2. Current CFR

What regulatory text is operative?

3. Current PTE

If Section 406 is implicated, what exemption actually supplies relief?

4. Controlling judicial authority

Did litigation change the rule or agency interpretation?

5. Federal Register history

How did the rule get here?

6. Agency guidance

What do DOL's:

• Interpretive Bulletins
• advisory opinions
• information letters
• FABs
• Technical Releases
• Compliance Assistance Releases
• FAQs
• fact sheets

add?

7. Internal policy

What process does the plan adopt after understanding the law?

This prevents a two-page summary from outranking the source it summarized.

Why Are Fact Sheets Still Worth Using?

Because efficiency matters.

A good fact sheet can tell you in five minutes:

• whether the issue matters
• which office issued it
• what changed
• what dates matter
• what source to read next.

That is valuable.

The wrong expectation is:

"If it came from DOL and says Fact Sheet, I can stop."

The right expectation is:

"This should get me to the governing source faster."

That is a much better role for the document.

Fast Answers

Is a DOL fact sheet binding law?

The label itself does not make the document binding law. Identify the underlying statute, regulation, exemption or other authority.

Can a fact sheet describe a proposed rule?

Yes. DOL's September 2006 QDIA fact sheet expressly described a proposed regulation.^[2]

Is that 2006 QDIA fact sheet the current rule?

No. DOL later finalized the QDIA regulation. Current analysis starts with 29 CFR 2550.404c-5.^[3][4]

Can a final-rule fact sheet become stale?

Yes. DOL's April 2024 Retirement Security fact sheet summarized a final rule that was later vacated.^[6][7][8]

What is the current investment-advice fiduciary regulation?

Current 29 CFR 2510.3-21 again contains the long-standing five-part framework after DOL's 2026 restoration.^[8][9]

Can a fact sheet create a prohibited-transaction exemption?

No. The valid exemption text supplies the relief.

Are DOL's 2013 target-date-fund tips a safe harbor?

No. DOL describes them as general guidance for fiduciaries.^[5]

What is a small entity compliance guide?

A guide designated under SBREFA to help small entities understand how to comply with covered rules.^[14][15]

Does that designation make every suggested procedure mandatory?

No. SBREFA says suggested procedures are not additional requirements and do not themselves establish compliance or a presumption of compliance.^[14]

Can a small entity compliance guide matter in enforcement?

In specified civil or administrative actions, SBREFA allows the guide's content to be considered regarding the reasonableness or appropriateness of proposed fines, penalties or damages.^[14][15]

Are all EBSA fact sheets small entity compliance guides?

Do not assume so. Check whether the document is actually designated that way.

What is the safest one-sentence rule?

Read the fact sheet for the map; read current law for the route.

Sources & References

1. U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration: Fact Sheets — https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets
2. U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration: Default Investment Alternatives Under Participant-Directed Individual Account Plans — Proposed Regulation Fact Sheet, September 2006 — https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/default-investment-alternatives-under-participant-directed-individual-account-plans
3. U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration: Regulation Relating to Qualified Default Investment Alternatives in Participant-Directed Individual Account Plans — Final Regulation Fact Sheet, April 2008 — https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/EBSA/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/default-investment-alternatives.pdf
4. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations / Legal Information Institute: 29 CFR §2550.404c-5 — Qualified Default Investment Alternatives — https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/2550.404c-5
5. U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration: Target Date Retirement Funds — Tips for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries, February 2013 — https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/target-date-retirement-funds-tips-for-erisa-plan-fiduciaries
6. U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration: Fact Sheet — Retirement Security Rule and Amendments to Class Prohibited Transaction Exemptions for Investment Advice Fiduciaries, April 23, 2024 — https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/retirement-security-rule-and-amendments-to-class-pte-for-investment-advice-fiduciaries
7. U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration: Retirement Security Rule — Tools and Resources — https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/laws/erisa/retirement-security/tools-and-resources
8. U.S. Department of Labor / Federal Register / GovInfo: Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary — Notice of Court Vacatur, 91 FR 13503, March 20, 2026 — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-03-20/pdf/FR-2026-03-20.pdf
9. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations / Legal Information Institute: 29 CFR §2510.3-21 — Definition of Fiduciary — https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/2510.3-21
10. U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration: Abandoned Individual Account Plan Regulations and Class Exemption — Updated May 2024 — https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/abandoned-individual-account-plan-regulations-and-class-exemption
11. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations / Legal Information Institute: 29 CFR §2578.1 — Termination of Abandoned Individual Account Plans — https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/2578.1
12. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations / Legal Information Institute: 29 CFR §2550.404a-3 — Safe Harbor for Distributions From Terminated Individual Account Plans — https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/2550.404a-3
13. U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration: Class Exemptions — PTE 2006-06 — https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/rules-and-regulations/exemptions/class
14. Legal Information Institute / U.S. Code: 5 U.S.C. §601 Note — Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, Sections 211-213 — https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/601
15. GovInfo: Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-121 — https://www.govinfo.gov/link/plaw/104/public/121
16. U.S. Department of Labor — Employee Benefits Security Administration: Fact Sheet — Final Amendment to PTE 84-14, the QPAM Exemption — https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/final-amendment-to-pte-84-14-the-qpam-exemption

Educational Disclaimer

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