DOL Provides Guidance for Defined Benefit Annual Funding Notices

The Department of Labor has issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2025-02 and accompanying single employer and multiemployer model notices updating notice requirements for defined benefit plans pursuant to Section 343 of SECURE 2.0. FAB 2025-02 uses a Q&A format to explain the methods that single employer defined benefit pension plans use to measure the value of assets, value of liabilities, and funding level.

Changes apply to plan years beginning after December 31, 2023. DOL notes that to the extent that annual funding notices have already been prepared for the 2024 notice year, guidance within this FAB should be considered in evaluating whether the disclosures represent a reasonable, good faith interpretation of section 101(f), as amended.