The US Department of Labor has just released proposed regulations and a proposed class exemption to allow entities which hold an abandoned individual account plan's assets to determine when a plan has been abandoned and to take actions necessary to wind up the plan. Those regulations (attached) generally provide that a plan is abandoned if no contributions or distributions have been made for a year and the plan sponsor cannot be located, no longer exists, or is unable to maintain the plan. Entities which hold plan assets and which could be trustees or issuers of an IRA ("Qualified Termination Administrators") may determine if a plan is abandoned and may, through the proposed procedures, wind up the abandoned plan. An accompanying proposed class exemption allows the QTA's to select and pay itself for certain services and fees incurred in connection with the termination of the plan.