SIFMA and other Associations provide comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce on maintaining uninterrupted access for retirement plans to Death Master File (DMF) information. Under section 203 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, the Department of Commerce is directed not to disclose information on the DMF to any person unless that person has been certified under a program established by the Department.  

The groups are supportive of the important objectives of this provision, i.e., to prevent fraudulent and other abusive use of DMF information; and are also very appreciative that Congress protected legitimate use of DMF information.

In that regard, the groups write to underscore how important it is that retirement plans and their service providers maintain uninterrupted access to DMF information both while the certification program is being developed and while certification applications are pending.