Unscrambling Fiduciary Confusion In seeking clarity about the "type" of 401k professional it has retained, plan sponsors often find the answers they are given to be incoherent with a slant in favor of the 401k industry instead of plan participants. The residual fuzziness plan sponsors are left feeling about this topic is a source of significant irritation to them. This article attempts to unscrambling the fuzziness. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Uncertainty About Fiduciary Practices is Dangerous In spite of ERISA's clarity about the standard to which people who serve as its plans' fiduciaries are held accountable, a shockingly high number are dangerously close to harsh personal consequences. Fiduciaries that do not adhere to ERISA's fiduciary standard expose their personal assets to legal judgments for imprudent conduct. Source: Roland|Criss

Hidden Fees on 401(k) Plans Deserve Light of Day What next? A lawsuit plaintiff against a 401(k) plan sponsor (the employer) went ballistic and shot two people in a courthouse back in Missouri. His was one of the growing number of complaints launched in situations where 401(k) providers were charging investors what knowledgeable financial people would agree was way too much money. Source: Mercury News

Automatic 401(k) May Not Boost Retirement Savings Employers who automatically enroll their workers in 401(k) plans match their employees' savings at a lower level than do other employers, a new study finds. Source: Forbes

Efforts to Raise 401k Participation Hit Snags The thinking two years ago seemed logical enough: If more companies would automatically enroll employees in 401k plans, then offer them the simplest of investment strategies, the employees would get a leg up on retirement savings, and we'd all be better for it. But logic has given way to reality, and even such basic 401k premises are coming under scrutiny. Source: USA Today

ERISA Designates Investment Fiduciaries by Their Actions, Not by Their Titles Some service providers to ERISA qualified retirement plans tout a "co-fiduciary" status or promote a warranty for their service. Many ERISA plan sponsors accept these claims to mean that use of such a provider's services or investment products eliminates all of a sponsor's fiduciary liability. According to ERISA's standard, this is simply not true. Source: Roland|Criss

DC Plan Sponsors Say Reviewing Fees Most Important Fiduciary Action Callan Associates finds DC plan sponsors saying that reviewing plan-related expenses was the most important fiduciary action they took over the past year. Source: Plansponsor.com (free registration may be required)

Survey Finds Plan Sponsors to Focus on Strategic Initiatives in 2010 Callan Associates' 2010 Defined Contribution Trends Survey: Getting the DC Plan Back on Track finds that DC plan sponsors are seeking ways they can reposition their plans following the market collapse to avoid future pitfalls. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Survey Shows Unabated Climb in Workplace Class Action Litigation The sixth annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report by Seyfarth Shaw LLP analyzes class action and collective action court rulings of 2009 involving claims against employers in federal and state courts. This is a summary of the survey findings. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Retirement Plan Participation: Effect of Education How does education affect the likelihood of participating in a retirement plan? Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute (PDF File)

DOL Issues Final Safe-Harbor Rule on Depositing Employee Contributions The U.S. Department of Labor announced the publication of a final rule to protect employee contributions deposited to small pension and welfare benefit plans with fewer than 100 participants by providing a safe harbor period of seven business days following receipt or withholding by employers. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

VIDEO: The EFAST2 Online Filing System Filers must submit the 2009 and 2010 annual return/report forms and schedules electronically through EFAST2. This is a helpful video produced by the US Department of Labor on the electronic filing of form 5500. Source: U.S. Department of Labor

EFAST2 Ready for Online Form 5500 Filings Plan sponsors can now take full advantage of a new federal government system for online filing of the required annual report to the Employee Benefits Security Administration at the U.S. Labor Department. Source: Plansponsor.com (free registration may be required)

Paper 5500 Option No Longer Available for Plan Year 2009 With the exception of 2008 plan years, the option of filing paper copies of the Form 5500 has expired. The DOL expects plan sponsors now to file electronically under EFAST2. In this technical update, we address the questions regarding the paper option for filing a Form 5500. Source: Sungard/Relius