MassMutual's Retirement Services Division has developed a comprehensive education-based fee disclosure training plan to get ahead of the curve when pricing transparency rules go into effect later this year.

At a recent conference, MassMutual detailed what it is doing to comply with fee disclosure rules mandated by Section 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The company has offered a series of WebEx sessions for advisors and third-party administrators to prepare them to assist and educate plan sponsors, advisors, TPAs and participants about changes in fee disclosure and what it means to them.

The training was calibrated to match each audience to the right level of training, based on expected client interaction. For instance, relationship managers completed two to three days of classroom training and role playing, and call center associates completed both Web-based and scenario-based classroom training to ensure they could be as helpful as possible. In addition to standard classroom and web training, MassMutual provided associates with an array of support tools to help them illustrate MassMutual's offering relative to fees.