Smart401k Blog

If you’ve opened up a newspaper, turned to a news cable station or checked out one of the many financial websites recently, you may have stumbled upon a headline discussing the Department of Labor’s final ruling on 401(k) fee disclosures (watch Smart401k CEO Scott Holsopple on Fox Business discuss this recent DOL ruling). This final ruling is great news for you and other 401(k) participants as information regarding fees and expenses related to 401ks will soon be more readily available.

If you are interested in some heavy reading you can check out the full details of the Department of Labor’s final ruling with 401(k) fee disclosure. But if you’re like most people, this ruling and the jargon surrounding it may bring about more questions than answers. To help clear up the confusion we offer three important takeaways from the final disclosure ruling.

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This post is part of Smart401k CEO Scott Hollsopple’s contribution to the U.S. News & World Report Smarter Investor blog series. To view the original article, click here. Original post date October 27, 2011.

If you’ve carefully selected the funds for your 401(k) plan account, it could be irritating to learn that your plan sponsor is changing the investment line-up.

Employer-sponsored 401(k) plans occasionally make line-up changes. These could involve a few funds or a full-scale revamping.

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I’ve had several recent conversations about the lackluster performance we saw from most sectors last year.

Discussions start with someone expressing frustration about slow investment growth, and they devolve into a round of Twenty Questions about big returns.

In retirement investing, there will be up years, down years and flat years. I know it’s easy to become frustrated like these folks. However, when you start to feel blinded by a hunger for big growth, I encourage you to read through this particular set of posts from the Smart401k blog rather than seeking information about the next big thing. And think about this investment:

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It’s a new year. With 2012 underway, many of you have received retirement account statements or a notice to view your information online. (If you haven’t yet, you will soon.)

This provides the perfect opportunity to spend some time examining your investment strategy, and make sure you’re on track to reach your goals. This is also a good time to review appropriate benchmarks to see how your investments stack up.

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The end of the 2011 is nearly here, and that means many of us have started setting our financial goals for 2012. Included in your 2012 goals should be getting the most out of your 401(k), and to help work towards that goal, I offer up eight dos and don’ts.

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If I could change one aspect of the financial industry it would be the media’s attention surrounding financial news. While it’s great that so much news is readily available for investors, far too often I see individual looking at financial journalists as if they are investment advisers and analysts. While some may have the adviser credential or background, their news coverage isn’t based on your individual situation.

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December 2,2011, marked the ten-year anniversary of Enron declaring bankruptcy.

Enron, you might remember, was a Houston based energy company that had a historic fall from grace. There are many lessons to be learned from the Enron collapse, but one important lesson is the importance of diversification.

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It seems like every talking head in the financial world has an opinion about annuities. They’re the best or the worst or too complicated or just perfect. The whole thing can be confusing for people trying to make good financial planning decisions.

So what’s all the fuss about?

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Good news retirement savers! Starting next year, you’ll be able to contribute more to your work retirement plan.

The IRS raised the 2012 contribution limit to $17,000 for 401(k) investments, 403(b)s,  most 457s and Thrift Savings Plans. The $500 raise is the first lift to the limit since 2009. The reason for the increase is simple, inflation. The contribution limit, by law, adjusts for inflation and because we saw a rise in inflation, we see a higher contribution limit.

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This is an exciting week in our office, and no, it’s not because the World Series has started, (well, maybe a little because of the World Series) it’s because we are in the midst of National Save for Retirement Week.

Retirement confidence reports continue to paint a picture of American workers unsure of their retirement future. According to a Sun Life Financial survey, one in five workers indicate they will not retire, and only 23% felt ‘very confident’ that they would be able to “meet basic living expenses in retirement.” It is startling to hear these numbers and know that only about 42% of workers, according to an Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) study, have tried to figure out how much to save to reach a comfortable retirement.

These survey results are a signal that change is in order for the American worker to start taking control of their own future.

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