PSI Sci
New here? Follow the money and the votes · Not sure of your district? Find your U.S. House member · Find your state legislators

S. 401: Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act of 2009

Before you vote › Federal bills

S. 401: Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act of 2009

111th Congress · introduced 2009-02-09 · Labor and Employment · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2009-02-09 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act of 2009

Plain summary

Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prohibit an administrator of an individual account plan that includes a qualified cash or deferred arrangement from contracting for services to the plan unless the administrator has received in advance a written statement that describes the services to be provided, identifies any other entity performing such services, provides the expected total annual service charges allocated among specified components, and discloses financial relationships with, or free or discounted services provided by, other parties. Limits applicability of such requirements to contracts for services with a total cost that equals or exceeds $5,000 per plan year or .01% of the value of plan assets at the end of the preceding plan year. Requires an individual account plan administrator that permits a participant or beneficiary to exercise control over account assets to provide to the participant or beneficiary a notice containing specified information on investment options 15 days prior to the participant's initial investment and the effective date of any material change in such options. Requires the Secretary of Labor to prescribe a model statement and a model notice. Requires the Secretary to make available to small employers: (1) educational and compliance materials concerning service providers; and (2) services to assist in finding and understanding affordable investment options. Requires the Secretary to: (1) survey and publish annually any data on plan investment options; (2) notify the applicable regulatory authority about any service provider engaged in a pattern or practice that precludes compliance; (3) annually audit a representative sampling of individual account plans; and (4) recommend ways to simplify employee pension plan reporting and disclosure requirements.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act of 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Harkin, Tom [D-IA] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong111-s401 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111