Miller pushes for 401(k) fee disclosure

Too many 401(k) plan participants are not getting the best deals from their plans due to hidden fees that cut deeply into their retirement savings, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee said today at a hearing on his legislation to require greater fee disclosure. “The median 401(k) account balance is now $19,000,” said committee chairman George Miller, D-Calif., author of the 401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act. “For many retirees, that’s not even enough to finance a single year of retirement. It’s no surprise that many Americans worry about how they will ever have enough savings to last them throughout retirement,” Mr. Miller said. Many plan participants do not have access to low-cost investment options, such as index funds, that could help them boost their savings, Mr. Miller said. The legislation would mandate that all plans provide a low-cost index plan. But the detailed disclosures that would be required in the bill “could result in many participants ignoring the complicated disclosures,” said Bradford Campbell, assistant secretary of Labor. Plan fiduciaries should select the service providers for their plans, not a federal agency, Mr. Campbell said.