Company 401k Plans
- TimYounkin
- JenL_3
- JenL_3
- geezard
- 3fromtheedge
- TimYounkin
- JenL_3
- Mark_J
- TimYounkin
- JenL_3
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» TimYounkin - Checking Fees
Bill, your on the right track by checking the fee tables located in each prospectus. Check with your employer if you have to pay any other fees besides what is listed in each mutual fund prospectus. Even if you are told you don't have to pay other fees, such as record keeping and management fees, I would still ask for a prospectus from General American Group and see what they give or tell you. Sometimes your jobs benefits department may not know what you are asking for. Certainly speak with a representative from General American Group, he or she should give you a break down of all the fees you are paying.BTW: For others like myself who happen to have an annuity wrapped into their 401(k) plan - you might want to get out www.insure.com Morningstar rates many insurance companies at this site. I think this site is helpful if you aren't sure how your funds are performing since many of these funds aren't listed in your local paper. Tim.
-- posted by TimYounkin
» JenL_3 - Employee Control in 401K Plans?
Just copying some posts pertaining to 401K plans from the BB thread:Author: Karin
Date: February 9, 1999 9:03 PM
Subject: 401 K Plans
As I understand it, an individual has NO control over his/her 401 K plan. It is controlled by their company? Very limited choices in Funds, NO choice of the Fund Family?
Karin
Author: JenL_2
Date: February 9, 1999 9:26 PM
Subject: 401K Plan Control
Karin - Have you visited the "Company 401K Plans" thread?
Timothy Younkin is our resident Suite 101 401K Plan expert. He has posted a link to his 401K Plan information website, plus has lots of links for more information.
According to Tim, yes, the employees can have some say in their 401K plans.....J.L.
Author: TimothyY
Date: February 10, 1999 9:10 AM
Subject: Company 401k Plans
I just wanted to clarify "employees can have some say in their 401K plans." I would encourage anyone who thinks if their 401(k) plan is below par then they should probably see their boss, CEO, or benefits department. Chances are somebody will listen because they are probably also in the 401(k) plan and management is partially liable via ERISA. Hopefully management will take proper action in addressing your concerns but certainly there is no guarantee. Good luck.
Timothy Younkin
Author: RandeS
Date: February 10, 1999 9:26 AM
Subject: In an ideal world
In an ideal world, plan participants should be able to express their concerns. However, it's always a good idea to weigh "company politics" in the decision to make your voice heard. A "squeaky wheel" can either be the hero... or the goat. Some situations scream out for "justice" while others may be particular to the individual. Picking your battles can go a long way toward harmonius job security. One route to making your thoughts/wishes known is to take the humble approach and assume, in the absence of other information, someone had a "reason" for making the decision in the first place and you're just wondering about the decision-making process since the outcome doesn't make sense to you, etc. I'd start with HR and move up the chain to HR director, if need be, before violating the chain of command by going direct to CEO. Size and culture of the company might dictate the strategy.
Rande Spiegelman
-- posted by JenL_3
» geezard - Fee Disclosure
In particular to Rande's post, I am unfortunately in a group annuity wrap account 401(k). I have been all over the net trying to find out information as to fees and expenses. Tim's posts and, particularly, his directing me to the DOL'S final report on fees and expenses has really given me a lesson in reality. My company has two plans (1 for upper management and 1 for lower income participants), therefore, unfortunately, the concern level isn't as high with regard to fees imposed against our plan assets. Also, it appears my company is paying recordkeeping (which may be high) since they opted for a company stock match versus cash, allbeit the match is very low. If they hadn't, the recordkeeping fees probably would have been waived since the fund manager is making a kiiling off the fund's assets probably. Judging by what others at work tell me, their returns have been extremely low in relation to the overall market. Also, from reading the report starting on page 31 with regard to insurance products, it appears there can be an allowable lack of disclosure in fees and expenses if the 401(k) is an insurance product and it is not subject to SEC guidelines. Does this give the provider an easy out? It would explain to me why fees are not shown on our quarterly statements and return numbers stated per each mutual fund choice are not in correlation with the newspaper. This is probably where the fees are taken from and it is difficult to determine. I requested the Form 5500 but, as yet, nothing provided. Trying to help my fellow workers, but, as mentioned, some thing I'm a troublemaker rather than a redeemer. Hopefully, they will have enough to retire on someday!-- posted by geezard
» 3fromtheedge - small company 401k plan
I am trustee for a small company 401k plan. We are evaluating new financial and administrative groups [I think the current groups will be history]. A company called Paychex [who already does our payroll] offers a plan with a nice assortment of funds from either Merrill Lynch, Fidelity or Federated [all loads waived]. A local Merrill office would provide education for our employees - Fidelity or Federated do not have local people.I am interested in Schwab or Vanguard - but again they have no local presence and do not seem as well set up to handle a small account.
Advice or comments please.
-- posted by 3fromtheedge
» TimYounkin - 401(k) RFPs
Evaluating 401(k) VendorsAnother forum that asked this questions is here.
I haven't heard anything about Federate. I don't hear good things about Merrill Lynch. Although Fidelity has good funds the only thing I don't like about them is that some of their funds have front-end loads (however, you said all loads waived right?). Are your employees going to have to pay additional fees other than the fees in the mutual fund prospectus? If so, how much are they going to pay for record keeping, management, distribution, etc.. fees. Keep it low or none at all.
I would recommend checking into Scudder, T. Rowe Price and TIAA-CREF. You already mentioned Vanguard, which is my favorite pick for anyone's 401(k) provider. Enough with my recommendations, after all I don't know anything about your business or what you are looking for in a retirement plan for your employees.
Developing and sending out a request for proposal (RFP) or just a request for information (RFI) is generally the next step. I suggest getting RFPs from five to ten vendors and narrowing it down to two or three that you then request to come in and give a presentation.
Once you have a contract in hand, it is important to double-check everything. Crucial areas are fees, services and additional costs of implementation. Make sure any additional costs are going to be picked up by the vendor. You'll also need to hold vendors accountable and make sure they continue to improve. It's not a one-shot deal, you need to continually evaluate your provider versus what else is in the marketplace and find out what is new. If you don't ask, you're not going to get answers.
While the process can be a long and difficult one, taking the time to do it right will pay off.
-- posted by TimYounkin
» JenL_3 - "Small Company Starting 401K Plan" thread
Just to let everyone know - The former "Small Company Starting 401K Plan" thread has been combined into this "Company 401K Plans" thread. We figured that it would be less confusing to keep all the 401K plan posts in one place.So please post any 401K plan questions and comments here......J.L.
-- posted by JenL_3
» Mark_J - 3fromtheedge
Hey there, I know it's frustrating sorting and sifting through information and trying to pick a 401k plan. Especially for a small company! Our company just went through this process.Unfortunately, unless your company has more then 100 employees, Vanguard is not an option.
Check the performance on those Merril Lynch funds. CNBC recently ran a report on them. I believe their growth fund returned about 3% last year due to no technology exposure and a heavy weighting in oil stocks. They recently replaced the manager and are unloading those positions and buying tech positions, but this may be a case of selling low and buying high!
Schwab doesn't adminster 401(k) plans, but you can use them via a 3rd party administrator. That's what we're doing! I believe you can call them directly and get a list of administrators in your area. Check them out at www.schwab.com for an 800-number or to drop them an email.
Not all 3rd party administrators are the same. Some charge different fees. We found that some charged 1% based on assets under management. That could get costly! The one we found charges a set fee that our employer just passes on to us.
Check out my website, and click on 401(k) Info. From all the contributions of good folks here, I have compiled a set of links that have various information on 401(k) plans. Maybe some of it will be useful?!?
Good luck, and watch out for the "sharks" out there! Keep us posted on how you're doing...
-- posted by Mark_J
» TimYounkin - Fund Analysis Merrill Lynch
Since Merrill Lynch was mentioned above I thought this link would be useful. The author Errold F. Moody Jr. is an investment expert. His 401(k) articles are all worth reading; especially if you are looking for a 401(k) vendor.-- posted by TimYounkin
» JenL_3 - 401K Plan Interactive Tools
Available at SmartMoney.com:401(K) Center - Making the Most of Your 401(K)
The section features 401K plan interactive tools and guidance.
....J.L.
-- posted by JenL_3
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