Does Your Company’s 401(k) Plan Suck?

Daniel Penzing
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What Are Your 401(k) Fees?

The sad truth is that most 401(k) plans suck. Very few of them are simple, low-cost ways to build a secure retirement future. The more money you’re saving, the more you’re paying in 401(k) fees. And yes, you might be paying more in fees than the actual management of your investments.

According to a research paper, the average 401(k) holder is paying about 1.77% in total annual fees on their retirement plan. That may not sound like much, but it sure adds up.

If you’re working with an investment professional, he or she should be looking out for your interests, which is why the number one thing you want to ask your investment advisor is…how much are you making on your 401(k) plan?

If you’re like most people, that’s not a question you’ve asked your 401(k) advisor. Instead, you’ve asked your advisor for performance updates and guidance on which funds to invest in.

The fees assessed on a 401(k) plan will depend on several factors that are unique to each plan. Here are a few of the most important 401(k) fees you need to know about:

How To Find Out (for free)

When you can get the expert advice of a colleague of mine.

Who says nothing is ever easy unfortunately applies to this situation.

I did the hard work researching for you already.

You Can Read a Full Review of the 401k Averages Book

Now let me explain why I want you to check it out.

You see, many of us have a pension or some kind of a 401k plan. But many of us unfortunately do not have the time nor the interest to understand how the plan works. After all, who wants to bother with the ins and outs of getting a check from their company?

But here is the thing: Ignorance Is Not Bliss.

With The 401k Averages Book you get:

  • An easy to read explanation of how the 401k works
  • The average fees for your plan
  • How much of your company's contribution is going to the fees and the company
  • How much you should be investing each year, etc

Where Is Your Money Is Being Invested?

How often do you look at what you are invested in? I can guarantee; you should be checking every single year. This money that your employer has put away for you is very important and you should be keeping track of it. The reason I am asking this question is because I don’t think the average person knows what is going on with their retirement account.

First, let me tell you that most 401(k) plans are invested in a plethora of different things and this is a good thing. The more active the portfolio is, the better pay off the environment is most likely to give. The only problem with this is that you need to be tracking it on a daily basis to make sure nothing is going wrong.

Most of the time, companies have a couple of mutual funds that they have put together and you just have to preset up the amounts of money that you want to put away. This is the set it and forget it strategy. There are some companies that have the power to pick out the funds that they are invested in, but they are very few and far between. So for the most part, your 401(k) plan is invested into a couple of mutual funds that cover all the assets and all the different area of the stock market. You do not want to be changing your 401(k) from company to company all the time because you need to be consistently investing into this plan.

How To Find Out (for free)

When you can get the expert advice of a colleague of mine.

Who says nothing is ever easy unfortunately applies to this situation.

I did the hard work researching for you already.

You Can Read a Full Review of the 401k Averages Book

Now let me explain why I want you to check it out.

You see, many of us have a pension or some kind of a 401k plan. But many of us unfortunately do not have the time nor the interest to understand how the plan works. After all, who wants to bother with the ins and outs of getting a check from their company?

But here is the thing: Ignorance Is Not Bliss.

With The 401k Averages Book you get:

  • An easy to read explanation of how the 401k works
  • The average fees for your plan
  • How much of your company's contribution is going to the fees and the company
  • How much you should be investing each year, etc