WASHINGTON—The Department of Labor has sent to the Federal Register a long-awaited rule detailing the fee and compensation information that plan service providers will be required to provide to sponsors of retirement plans.

But instead of putting the rule into immediate effect, the DOL has postponed the regulation's effective date until July 16, 2011, and has cast it as an “interim final” rule.

The agency also said the public would have 45 days to comment after the interim rule is formally published in the Federal Register. The rule is expected to appear in Friday's Federal Register.

The full text of the regulation, as sent to the Federal Register, is available on the Register's website: www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-16768_PI.pdf.

Doug Halonen is a reporter for Pensions & Investments, a sister publication of Business Insurance.