The European Union Privacy Directive: Impact on US Financial Participation Plans; a Model for the Future?

Zusammenfassung

With the growth of electronic plan administration, concern for the integrity and privacy of profit sharing/401k plan participant information has intensified. The European Union has been especially active in legislation to protect such „private“ and indentifying information. The EU Data Privacy Directive (the „Directive“) sets forth the rules under which particpant information may be transmitted electronically and may have application for US profit sharing companies with multi-national operations in the EU. It may also serve as a model of the type of legislation which we may see in the US in the future.