Fee disclosure rules have had little to no impact on plan participants when it comes to knowing what they pay in fees and expenses on their defined contribution plans.

According to a recent LIMRA survey of DC plan participants before and after they received information about their plans' fees and expenses, 50 percent of plan participants said they did not know how much they paid in plan fees and expenses before the fee disclosure notices went out and after.

"The disclosure notices — or the discussion of them — did seem to improve the knowledge of those who believed they didn't pay any fees or expenses," said Alison Salka, corporate vice president and director of LIMRA Retirement Research. "There are nearly 75 million workers who participate in defined contribution plans in the United States. Our study found that 22 percent of participants believed they didn't pay fees and expenses after receiving disclosure notices, compared with the 38 percent in our first survey, prior to disclosures going out."