퇴직연금운용상 수탁자책임제도의 법적 개선방안

In 2005, the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act was enacted to require phased transition from retirement pay systems to retirement pension systems, and there has also been a rapid increase in the scope of accrued money, thus showing significant change in the environment surrounding the retirement pension market. However, the retirement pension earning rate was lower than expected and therefore, there is growing burden for companies and rising possibility for faulty retirement pension beneficiary rights of laborers. Accordingly, there has been a rising need for increase in investments for performance-dividend type products such as stocks rather than conservative, safe products that guarantee principal. In doing so, the retirement pension operator can manage assets with ‘high risk, high return’ patterns, potentially resulting to losses in accrued money. Therefore, establishing clear-cut legal standards is crucial for the operation of accrued money. Despite this, the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act only prescribes an ambiguous duty of care by a good manager. Even if the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act does not include explicit regulations on the duties of good faith, which is an important standard for managing assets, consignment of management of pension assets is a trust relationship and therefore, the Trust Act, etc. can be applied. Normally, however, the management of investment assets not only depends fully on the discretion of the trustee, and when the retirement pension operator manages the accrued money poorly, it can cause damages to the laborer such as loss in principal, making it necessary to set strict standards for managing retirement pension assets. Hence, in the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, it is necessary to provide a separate regulation stipulating that the retirement pension operator is responsible for the duty of good faith when managing assets. Furthermore, it is also necessary to introduce the fiduciary liability insurance system to ensure efficacy of liability for compensation in the event that a laborer incurs damages due to violation of the duties for managing assets by a retirement pension operator.