The 401(k) fee disclosure rules were first issued in July 2010 with a one-year deadline for implementation, but the deadline was extended to April 1 after members of the industry raised concerns about the difficulties of preparing for and implementing those not-entirely-finalized rules.

"I would say this is somewhat useful, although a little bit longer would have been more helpful … but there's value in the delay," said Brian Graff, executive director and CEO of ASPPA. "Most of the industry has been building this out from a systems perspective for months."

The DOL has also delayed the implementation of a requirement for plan providers to offer a summary "roadmap" document of fees. That summary document will evidently be issued separately in June.

Concern remains that without the roadmap in place, plan sponsors will be required to create a best guess on meeting the rulings in disclosure documents, and then issue new disclosures in the future.

"Folks are still concerned about that, as they don't want to have to go through the process a second time," Graff added.

Plan administrators for calendar-year plans must now make their disclosures for plan-level and investment-level information by Aug. 30 of this year, with a first quarterly statement issued by Nov. 14, 2012

The DOL also announced it will soon solicit public comment on a separate proposal requiring providers to offer tools to assist plan fiduciaries in identifying and locating the information to be disclosed, located in a litany of documents.

Jamie Kalamarides, senior vice president of Prudential Retirement's Institiutional Investment Solutions, said his firm supports the DOL's announcements.

"Today's regulations and guidance are critical first steps toward enhancing the retirement security of all workers," he said. "We look forward to working with the agencies in encouraging new and innovative solutions."

Editor's note: The final rule applies to ERISA-covered defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. It does not apply to simplified employee pension plans (SEPs), SIMPLE retirement accounts, IRAs, and certain annuity contracts and custodial accounts described in Internal Revenue Code section 403(b). The final rule does not apply to employee welfare benefit plans. EBSA intends to separately publish proposed disclosure requirements for welfare benefit plans in the future.