Guidant Financial Group Blog

Both the House and the Senate have bills in front of them that will require 401(k) firms and employers to disclose all fees associated with 401(k) investment and maintenance (see proposed bill here). While most people agree that this is a move in the right direction, there is some considerable argument as to whether the cost to put such disclosures in place is too high. There is no question that a law will be put in place, but exactly what the law will look like is up for debate.

MarketWatch came out with an article today that outlines arguments from both sides of the debate (see Laying it on the Line).

The article specifically addresses self-directed brokerage accounts (not the same as a Guidant’s self-directed IRA LLC self-directed IRA), which would have to disclose a myriad of fees, as the investment opportunities are nearly infinite within the securities market.

The fear that both sides share is that, if too many fees are disclosed, employees will choose not to participate in the 401(k) Plan , since it may appear that the plan is too expensive. Most Americans would agree that anything that deters people from saving for retirement is not a good idea.

Hopefully a happy medium will be found; one that will leave employees confident in their 401(k) Plan and will encourage them to participate in this retirement savings vehicle.