DOL Streamlines PTE Application Rule With New Requirements

New amended procedures for prohibited transaction exemption applications hopefully will encourage more employee benefit plans to apply and ultimately see their application approved.

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) says its revisions will create more clarity, certainty, and transparency around the process of applying for, reviewing, and granting administrative PTEs pursuant to Section 408(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). While EBSA’s goals are laudable, the efficacy of these revisions is not yet clear.

Finalizing a 2022 proposed rule with subsequent consideration to public comments, these long-awaited new procedures, published on January ...