Plan Expenses and Cost Cutting ERISA allows employers to pay certain plan expenses with plan assets. Both the IRS and DOL have issued guidance on this subject. Employers should use caution when considering charging expenses to assets, however, because not all types of expenses can be paid from plan assets. Source: McKay Hochman

Push Back on Fund Expenses: Who Pays Them? Given the gray area of fund expenses, investors are not only asking who should bear expenses, but they are also asking more specific questions as to what is (or should be) fund expenses. This article looks at some of these discrete expenses. Source: Pepper Hamilton LLP

More Retirement Plans Require Audits I serve on the board of directors of a large, long-established, non-profit institution. We have recently been advised by our accountant that we must have a full audit of our retirement plan conducted. Why? And what's involved? Source: Northjersey.com

Best Ways to Tap Retirement Cash Because the recession has thrown millions out of work and tightened the vise on others, financial planners are increasingly hearing from clients who want to tap their retirement plans for short-term needs. Source: MoneyWatch.com

VIDEO: Dallas Salisbury on Retirement Readiness Dallas Salisbury at the 2010 P&I East Coast Defined Contribution Conference shares the data on America's retirement readiness in this six minute video. Source: PIonline.com

BrightScope Shines a Light on 401k Plans The company's rating system gives employees insights into brokerage and other plan fees. Employers and plan advisors are taking notice. Source: Workforce.com

Consultants Report Growth in Custom Target-Date Strategies Investment consultants say custom target-date strategies are growing in prevalence as options in defined contribution retirement plans, such as 401ks, according to the 4th Annual Defined Contribution Consulting Support and Trends Survey released by PIMCO. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Minding the 401k Gaps If you have been fortunate enough to have traveled to London and ridden the underground, you may recall the sign "Mind the Gap". This gap is the opening or pit between the door of the train and the station platform. "Mind the gap" also applies in the 401k world and there is more than one gap, any of which that will cause a broken future retirement income. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Vanguard: 75% of DC plans include TDFs Use of target-date funds is up significantly thanks to their status as qualified default investment alternatives under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and the growth of automatic enrollment in company-sponsored plans, according to a new Vanguard study. Source: Employee Benefit News

8th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends MetLife has surveyed employers and employees on pressing issues facing the U.S. benefits industry today and compiled the results in its annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends. This year's results point to the apparent resilience of workplace benefits in a challenging economy and reveal that as employers and employees continue to deal with the effects of the economic downturn, they are focused on the long term. Source: MetLife

Employers Say Benefit Costs Trump Employee Retention For the first time since 2006, controlling benefit costs edge out employee retention as the top concern facing employers, according to MetLife's eighth annual "Employee Benefits Trends Study." In the survey, employee productivity ranked third as a key benefits objective, with 84% of respondents expressing a renewed interest in this area, up from 79% in 2008. Source: Employee Benefit News

Even Extreme Market Volatility Did Not Inspire Workers to Take Action in Their 401k's Neither record-breaking losses in 2008 nor a robust market rally in 2009 incentivized workers to put 401k retirement saving at the top of their priority lists last year, according to a new report from Hewitt Associates. Source: 401khelpcenter.com

Roth 401k Conversions Likely to be Approved Legislation allowing defined-contribution-plan participants to convert plan assets to an in-plan Roth account may be passed into law as soon as the end of next month. Source: Investment Company Institute

Boston Scientific Hit With 401k Suit Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC) is the subject of a class action suit accusing the company of violating its ERISA plan. Source: Lawyersandsettlements.com