Anyone know the section of ERISA that governs the fiduciary duty employers have to their employees regarding the 401(k) plan offered? It seems silly that a firm of tax professionals should have to fight to get a decent 401(k) plan, but we need to present as much info as possible to present the fact that our plan sucks, and all our earnings are getting eaten as fees. We are with John Hancock presently.
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Fiduciary Duty
Joan, your firm would not be considered derelict of duty simply by having John Hancock as your plan custodian. I can understand why you feel the 401k is performing lousy, but this does not mean your plan administrator is not performing with the choices available.
A portion of the fees inherent with an administered plan are justifiable, as there is extra accounting and liability associated with being the custodian. However, the custodian should charge the fees as custodian, and not hide their skimming off the top. You might try going around the big banks and insurance companies and going directly to mutual fund companies such as Value Line, Franklin/Templeton, Oppenheimer/Aim, just to name a few.
There will be fees associated with them as well, but you are getting closer to the source of your return, and not having a financial product that is going through a reseller.
One of the biggest shams ever propogated is this idea that your plan is "self-directed." What they really mean is YOU get to do all the work, YOU get to fill out the 5500, YOU get to pay the penalties, etc., etc. This is what they call "self-directed" -- placing the headaches on you, while THEY control the money. -
Nah, at least we don't have that self directed crap. I did find a bunch of stuff on the internet regarding ERISA, and we don't believe that the people that chose the plan a) know what they're doing, b) are monitoring the plan in accordance to ERISA, and c) did an accurate comparison of plans when choosing the plan. Or at least that's what we're trying to determine.Comment
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joan
Is John Hancock the plan administrator? Or do you use a third party?
What fees are you referring to specifically?
Can you select shares in different mutual fund families?Comment
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1. I think so.
2. The 'wrap' fees and the admin fees.
3. Yes, but all that are not JH funds are prefaced by JH such as 'JH T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund'.Comment
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