How Safe is Your 401 k Plan s Money Market Fund: related news

How Safe is Your 401(k) Plan?s Money Market Fund?

Money market funds have always provided refuge from the storm in a market crisis, but CFOs who have fiduciary responsibility for their company’s 401(k) plan may be questioning the safety of their plan’s money market fund these days. Many of the funds hold commercial paper and other short-term debt instruments tied to ailing financial powerhouses such as Lehman and AIG. And the seemingly unthinkable has already happened: one large money market fund, the Reserve Primary Fund, announced that it lost capital due to the Lehman securities it held, breaking the sacred $1 per share net asset value (NAV). This marks the first time that a money market fund “broke the buck” in 14 years, according to The Wall Street Journal. S & P subsequently put nine other money funds sponsored by the company on credit watch for possible downgrades.

401(k) Debit Cards: Taking A Swipe At Your Retirement Savings

Debit cards linked to 401(k) accounts give individuals the ability to access funds approved for loans from their retirement savings quickly and easily. But given Americans' already low rate of saving for retirement, is it such a good idea? If you have a 401(k) plan and are considering applying for a loan from your account, it is crucial to understand how a 401(k) debit card works if your employer allows you to access the loan in this way. Let's take a look at the potential pros and cons of using a debit card to access your 401(k) loan funds, and how to determine whether you should to use the feature. (For background reading on 401(k) plans read The 4-1-1 on 401(k)s.)

The Roth 401(k) Estimator (401(k) Plans)

This retirement savings option, which first became available on January 1, 2006, combines features of both a traditional 401(k) plan and a Roth IRA. Like a Roth IRA, contributions are made on a post-tax basis and qualified withdrawals taken during retirement are completely tax free. (With a traditional 401(k), contributions are pretax and withdrawals taken during retirement are taxed as ordinary income.) And like a traditional 401(k), the Roth 401(k) has no income restrictions — if your employer offers it, you're eligible. (For more details, read our story, "Introducing the Roth 401(k).")

As 401(k) Plan Sponsors Enter Economy-Fueled 'Termination Season,' RolloverSystems Offers 401(k) Plan Termination Services Suite

As 401(k) Plan Sponsors Enter Economy-Fueled 'Termination Season,' RolloverSystems Offers 401(k) Plan Termination Services Suite

Financial crisis highlights contrasting pension and 401(k) investment risks

Watson Wyatt has analyzed the contrasting investment risks faced by defined benefit pensions and 401(k) plans during the current financial crisis. The predictable, mainly guaranteed income of pensions (including hybrid plans like cash balance plans) contrasts sharply with the day-to-day fluctuation of 401(k) account values, which are wreaking havoc on planned retirements. “We are in uncharted territory. The 401(k) plan has been around for less than 30 years, and we’ve not yet had a generation of workers retire on all or mostly 401(k) assets,” said Alan Glickstein, a senior retirement consultant at Watson Wyatt. “What happens when market volatility makes 401(k) investment returns and retirement income anything but predictable?”

401(k) Plan Fees: What Must Be Disclosed, to Whom and When?

Do you know all of the fees being charged to participants in your company’s 401(k) plan? Do you know what 401(k) plan fees your company is paying? Do you know how much compensation your company’s 401(k) plan recordkeeper and other service providers are receiving?

Equifax to Change U.S. Retirement Plan and Offer Enhanced 401(k) Plan

today announced that it is redesigning its retirement program for active U.S. employees effective January 1, 2009. The changes will affect approximately 4,000 of the Company's approximately 7,000 employees. Equifax will freeze its qualified defined benefit pension plan for U.S. employees who do not meet certain grandfathering criteria for retirement eligible employees, and will provide these employees and certain other employees not eligible to participate in the Plan with an enhanced 401(k) savings plan. The pension plan amendments will freeze service credit, but will continue to credit for the participant's salary increases over time. Grandfathered employees will remain in the current pension and 401(k) plans. (Logo:

Ascensus, LPL Financial and 401(k) Advisors Partner to Deliver a New Retirement Plan Offering with Fiduciary Protection

s largest independent administrator and recordkeeper for plans in the micro to large segments of the market, announced today it has partnered with LPL Financial and 401(k) Advisors to deliver a unique and innovative retirement plan solution: Fiduciary Advisor 401(k). Designed to support financial advisors and their clients, Fiduciary Advisor 401(k) is a comprehensive suite of retirement plan services, featuring a broad investment platform, full-fee disclosure and fiduciary protection.

As 401(k) Plan Sponsors Enter Economy-Fueled 'Termination Season,' RolloverSystems Offers 401(k) Plan Termination Services Suite

PRNewswire/ -- RolloverSystems Inc. (RSI), an independent provider of rollover management services, is offering a suite of solutions to help advisors and plan sponsors easily and responsibly terminate their 401(k) plans, an occurrence which could be common due to economic woes this Fall, a time also known as "plan termination season."

How Do Your 401(k) Plan Fees Stack Up?Loading...

401(k) plan fees are no longer a passing concern. Now, they're front and center. With Congress's focus on plan fees, the Labor Department's recently released plan for participant fee disclosure, and a slew of class action lawsuits over plan fees, sponsors can no longer take a backseat on this issue.

Gainey & McKenna Announces Analog Devices, Inc. 401(k) ERISA Class Action Litigation Update

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gainey & McKenna and Squiteri & Fearon, LLP are counsel to the Plaintiff and the proposed class of all participants in the Analog Devices, Inc. (``ADI'') Investment Partnership Plan (the 401(k) ``Plan'') who purchased or held shares of Analog stock in the Plan at any time between October 5, 2000 and the present. They have filed a class action in the United States District Court for District of Massachusetts which arises from the options backdating at Analog and alleges that Analog and other fiduciaries of the Plan violated their fiduciary duties to the Plan's participants. The lawsuit alleges that Analog and certain individuals who were responsible for managing and administering the Plan failed to disclose important information to the participants of the Plan, including information about Analog'

401(k) Debit Cards Now Being Offered

The SEC advises that a number of companies are beginning to offer a 401(k) debit card to employees who invest in 401(k) retirement programs. This card allows the employee to borrow up to $50,000 or 50 percent of the value of the retirement plan, whichever is less, through use of a debit card. However, unlike a debit card that deducts money from a bank account, this 401(k) withdrawal is a loan from the retirement account and users must repay it along with fees and interest or incur substantial penalties. More information may be found at www.finra.org/investorinformation.

Equifax Puts Pension Plan on Ice, Adds Enhanced 401(k)

The Atlanta company will freeze its plan for about 4,000 U.S. employees, and about 300 U.S. employees who have met what a news release called certain grandfathering criteria will remain in the current DB and 401(k) plans. Others will be offered the new 401(k) plan.

Study: Too Many 401(k) Choices Can Lead to More Risky Investments

p>The typical 401(k) plan offered 18 funds choices last year. Savvy investors often relish the array of options and seek out the lowest fees and best returns. But for an inexperienced retirement saver, confusing terms, fine print, and seemingly indecipherable differences between mutual funds can seem daunting. And new research indicates that too many choices in a 401(k) may even lead inexperienced investors to take on more risk than they would with fewer options.

A Rutgers School of Business, University of Texas-Austin, and University of Pittsburgh study found that many employees without extensive investment knowledge will choose a heavier concentration of stocks in their portfolio when confronted with more fund options. A large fund assortment more than doubled investment in stocks among those less knowledgeable, from 29 percent t

Securian's Annual 401(k) Checkup Helps Employees Keep Pace With Retirement Savings...

Securian's Annual 401(k) Checkup Helps Employees Keep Pace With Retirement Savings Goals ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- When we get serious about saving for retirement, we do some quick calculations and come up with The Number -- the amount we think we need to save to provide enough income to last throughout retirement. As time goes by, that number may fluctuate and it becomes difficult to know whether retirement savings are on track. People enrolled in Securian Retirement 401(k) plans can track their savings progress on their plan statements. Once a year, in clear language with simple graphics, the Annual Checkup provides retirement plan participants with an estimate of how close their current savings rate will bring them to The Number.

Will Your Employer Eliminate 401(k) Matches?

Retirement savers already reeling from catastrophic stock market losses can add a new worry to their sleepless nights: losing their employer's 401(k) match. General Motors employees saving for retirement will no longer receive a match for retirement dollars tucked into their 401(k)'s. And many retirement experts say that other companies are likely to suspend 401(k) matches as the financial crisis exerts pressure on their bottom lines.

Will your employer eliminate its 401(k) match?

Retirement savers already reeling from catastrophic stock market losses can add a new worry to their sleepless nights: losing their employer's 401(k) match. General Motors employees saving for retirement will no longer receive a match for retirement dollars tucked into their 401(k)'s. And many retirement experts say that other companies are likely to suspend 401(k) matches as the financial crisis exerts pressure on their bottom lines.

Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. Announces Investigation of the PFF Bancorp, Inc. PFF Bank & Trust Employee Stock Ownership Plan and the PFF Bank & Trust 401(k) Plan

Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. Announces Investigation of the PFF Bancorp, Inc. PFF Bank & Trust Employee Stock Ownership Plan and the PFF Bank & Trust 401(k) Plan

New Data from Charles Schwab Shows Employer Match is Key Factor in How Much Employees Save in 401(k) Plans

Charles Schwab has released a new report revealing an important connection between how a company offers its 401(k) plan matching contribution and employee saving levels. From 2004 to 2007, employees at companies with retirement plans serviced by Schwab were most likely to choose the plan

401(k) rollover delay seems unreasonable

Q: What recourse does a person have if a former employer does not process the paperwork to roll over their 401(k) plan into another plan? I worked for a small company for 15 months in 2006-2007 and accumulated about $4,000 in my 401(k). Three months after I left the company, I notified them that I wanted to roll over to Fidelity Investments. That was last October.

McCain Beats Obama On 401(k)s

New York -- How might your 401(k) vote for president? To find out, try the revealing calculator on the website of Americans for Tax Reform. This device considers the value of your investment plan and then estimates how your money would fare, depending on whether Barack Obama or John McCain wins tomorrow’s election.

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