News Highlights

Fee disclosure regs expand obligations The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued interim final regulations requiring that service providers to pension, 401(k) and other retirement plans disclose information to assist plan fiduciaries in assessing the reasonableness of the service providers’ compensation and potential conflicts of interest. The fee disclosure regulations will have an impact on plan fiduciaries and plan sponsors. The regulations will become effective on July 16, 2011. Source: Benefit News

IRS: Those small-business pension plans were too good to be true In a warning to small business owners, the Internal Revenue Service has sued a Los Angeles area man, saying he set up bogus pension plans allowing such clients to wrongfully duck at least $30 million in taxes. Source: Forbes

Asset Allocation, Diversification and Correlation The rational investor understands that there is a point where dollar wealth can increase more by risk control activities than by seeking higher investment returns. This insight is invaluable and lies at the heart of the rational investing approach. Source: Schultz Collins Lawson Chambers

DOJ sues adviser over pension plan fraud The Justice Department has filed suit to stop a Pasadena man from promoting a tax fraud scheme involving sham pension contributions and welfare benefit plans. Source: Employee Benefit News

Retirement Spending: Does the Four Percent Rule Hold Up? As a baseline guide for setting individuals' spending expectations at retirement, it's in the ballpark, generating an initial spending recommendation that is arguably close to what comes out of a more complicated analysis. Source: Vanguard.

How to Tell if You Have a Good 401k Plan A good 401k plan can boost your chances of a secure retirement and perhaps even allow you to retire sooner—if you take advantage of it. A generous employer contribution and low-cost investment options coupled with the tax deferral will help your savings grow. Conversely, an expensive 401k plan with poor investment choices will make it more difficult to save for retirement. Here's how to tell if your company has a competitive 401k plan. Source: U.S. News & World Report.