Survey: Employees Can’t Quantify 401(k) Fees Paid

Bigger Problem

The problem is actually much bigger than what the Transamerica executive stated. It's not just that plan sponsors are overestimating workers' awareness of 401k fees. It's actually much more troublesome than that. The larger problem is that even employers and plan sponsors do not truly understand the fees being paid, to the point of folly. Of the 92 percent of executives that claim they have a clear understanding of fees, I would estimate about 92 percent of those same executives are flat out delusional and overconfident. The problem with phone surveys is that they are entirely unscientific and what you end up getting is answers based on how people want to be not how they are. I would assume 92 percent of executives wish they had a clear understanding of fees so they could feel under control. At BrightScope, we've worked with hundreds of plan sponsors, including many members of the Fortune 500, and I can tell you that that 92 percent number is off by at least 80 percent. In a room full of 100 random plan sponsors in this country, we have been lucky to find 1-2 sponsors who actually understood their own fees. These surveys are basically worthless but in the absence of real data on real plans, I guess that's all the American public can rely on. Thankfully change is coming.

Mike Alfred of CA @ Jun 20, 2009 14:45:11 PM

Tell us

how much of our public Social Security investments (taxes) are siphoned off to "fees" in our lifetime for maintaining the program.

Then tell us how much of our aggregate 401(k) contributions are siphoned off to "fees" in our lifetime for maintenance of the program and investment services (including the fees of the "funds" in the fund choices).

This is what you need to know. Is anyone telling you? Do you think they're not merely because no one can compute it?

Muser of NM @ Jun 20, 2009 11:43:55 AM

401K Fees

Required monthly itemized listing of ALL fees showing the source, payee, date, amount(s), and cumulative amounts. This should also include taxes so that investors can see how tax efficient their fund managers are. Funds should also be required to benchmark their fees and performance against a fixed benchmark and duration. It is very deceptive of fund managers to change the benchmark and duration that they show to investors.

Roy of CO @ Jun 20, 2009 11:07:47 AM