The SPARK Institute helps to shape national retirement policy by providing research, education, testimony and comments on pending legislative and regulatory issues to members of Congress and relevant government agency officials. Our members play a key role in identifying our priorities and in developing the positions we take on critical issues. The SPARK Institute Government Relations Committee ("GRC") and its various task forces provide opportunities for our members to become actively involved in developing and promoting regulatory and legislative policies that support their business goals and benefit the entire industry. Among our important goals is to develop practical solutions and industry standards for the efficient delivery of retirement benefits through the workplace. We meet regularly with representatives from regulatory agencies such as the Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service and Securities and Exchange Commission, and have established ourselves as a credible source for practical and real world industry information.

Some of our recent priorities and initiatives include:

• Retirement plan and mutual fund industries fee disclosure issues, including DOL, SEC, GAO and Congressional reviews.
• SEC 12b-1 fees review.
• Mutual fund industry Fair Funds settlements.
• SEC Rule 22c-2 adoption and implementation issues.
• Pension Protection Act regulatory policy issues.
• Qualified Default Investment Fund issues.