WP: 401(k) plans will have to disclose fees

[bob boag]

Employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement plans will have to disclose fees that savers pay on investments and transactions by 2012, the Labor Department said.

The regulations, which will apply to the plans by Jan. 1, 2012, will require companies to provide investors information on administrative and investment fees charged to their accounts in their quarterly statements, the department said.

401(k) plans will have to disclose fees

 

[chinaco]

About time!

 

[travelover]

This is an outrage. Just more government intrusion into our lives.

 

[FinanceDude]

I have been hoping for this for many years. I don't think the big annuity companies like Principal and John Hancock are going to be very happy!

 

[samclem]

This is an outrage. Just more government intrusion into our lives.

This is one government intrusion I can get behind 100%.

 

[travelover]

This is one government intrusion I can get behind 100%.

I'm disappointed! I thought surely someone would argue that this will raise costs for 401(k) administrators and more corporations will drop 401(k) plans as an employee benefit as an unintended consequence.

 

[FinanceDude]

This is one government intrusion I can get behind 100%.

And it will make my job 100% easier............

 

[samclem]

I'm disappointed! I thought surely someone would argue that this will raise costs for 401(k) administrators and more corporations will drop 401(k) plans as an employee benefit as an unintended consequence.

You might find someone to take the bait, but it won't be me.

Laws and regs that provide consumer protection by enhancing the availability of both information and options are far preferable to prescriptive approaches which set arbitrary standards. In an area where we've got an obvious need for a more efficient market and which has impact beyond the individual (after all, we'll apparently all be asked to support people who fail to build a retirement nest egg) , a dose of the right kind of govt attention seems appropriate.

Now, about health care . . .

 

[travelover]

You might find someone to take the bait, but it won't be me.................

Yea, I'm pullin' yer leg. Excessive fees on 401(k) accounts has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. It is not like you can just go elsewhere.

 

[FinanceDude]

Yea, I'm pullin' yer leg. Excessive fees on 401(k) accounts has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. It is not like you can just go elsewhere.

Actually, there are a fair number of options. Principal reps may have a difficult time explaining why their 403B annuities have fees in them that approach the level of a VA without any sort of guaranteed income benefits or death benefits to the investor........

 

[Finance Dave]

You might find someone to take the bait, but it won't be me.

Laws and regs that provide consumer protection by enhancing the availability of both information and options are far preferable to prescriptive approaches which set arbitrary standards. In an area where we've got an obvious need for a more efficient market and which has impact beyond the individual (after all, we'll apparently all be asked to support people who fail to build a retirement nest egg) , a dose of the right kind of govt attention seems appropriate.

Now, about health care . . .

IMO this won't help much. They'll figure out other ways to hide the costs. Look at what happened when they asked the phone companies to break out their fees on your bill...have you seen your phone bill details lately? If you can make any sense out of things like "local connection charges" and "government access fees", not to mention the fact that my 911 service fee changes about every month...geesh.

 

[kyounge1956]

Do these new regulations apply to other tax-deferred retirement accounts (457b, 403b etc) or only to 401k's?

 

[keegs]

I'm disappointed! I thought surely someone would argue that this will raise costs for 401(k) administrators and more corporations will drop 401(k) plans as an employee benefit as an unintended consequence.

I have no idea weather there's causality here but two weeks ago we received notification at work that an additional forty dollar per year administration fee was being assessed on all employee 401k accounts.

Do you suppose something like this could happen in France?

 

[chinaco]

I know we have been getting scr3wed for years where I work!

 

[ziggy29]

I have no idea weather there's causality here but two weeks ago we received notification at work that an additional forty dollar per year administration fee was being assessed on all employee 401k accounts.

I'm willing to wager that there is almost certainly causality here. They can't hide these fees any more.

If I am being charged fees above and beyond the fund expenses in my 401K, I have no idea where they are. These are all readily available Fidelity funds with "institutional class" expenses (the lowest fee share class) and all have tickers that can be tracked. I never see any cash or shares "redeemed" for a fee, so I can't see where I'm paying any. Could be that in our case the employer is paying it, or maybe Fido is content to make the money on the fees embedded in the funds. I'll be interested to see any "disclosure" that has to be made in our plan.

 

[FinanceDude]

I'm willing to wager that there is almost certainly causality here. They can't hide these fees any more.

If I am being charged fees above and beyond the fund expenses in my 401K, I have no idea where they are. These are all readily available Fidelity funds with "institutional class" expenses (the lowest fee share class) and all have tickers that can be tracked. I never see any cash or shares "redeemed" for a fee, so I can't see where I'm paying any. Could be that in our case the employer is paying it, or maybe Fido is content to make the money on the fees embedded in the funds. I'll be interested to see any "disclosure" that has to be made in our plan.

Take a look at the SPD for your plan...........