In a recent article on the Daily Finance Web site, a checklist of key elements could prove the 401(k) plan that you sponsor for your employees a clunker! William Bernstein, a respected financial analyst, delivers the top signs that your retirement plan may need to be re-evaluated.

Revealed in a study administered by Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc., nearly 74% of retirement plan sponsors surveyed offer automatic features and investment guidance to their employees. Plan sponsors are finding that more of their employees are saving for their retirement since incorporating an Automatic Enrollment feature to their plan and find that their participants are taking a more strategic approach to meet their retirement goals through the provided investment guidance tools.

Plan sponsors need to make a greater effort in preventing former plan participants from becoming “lost” (i.e., losing contact with them), as well as establishing procedures that outline what happens if contact is lost with such participants, according to recent findings by the Society for Human Resource Management.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released the Summer 2010 issue of its "Retirement News for Employers” newsletter.

According to a USA Today article, a majority of 401(k) plan participants are unhappy with the selection of mutual funds and investment groups in which their employer’s 401(k) plan offers them. Many participants try to rollover their monies into a personal IRA account, however, plan sponsors and participants should be aware that rolling over retirement savings into a personal IRA isn’t feasible unless a participant changes employers or retires early. In order to retain skilled employees, plan sponsors should consider the type of plan they offer their employees as well as the type of investments available within the plan.

Saturday, August 14, 2010 marked the 75^th anniversary of Social Security. Created as a retirement program for American workers, Social Security has become a safety net for working families, the elderly and the disabled. It is also the federal government's single largest program, accounting for a fifth of all spending. The Social Security homepage, www.socialsecurity.org, hosts their Fast Facts and Figures about Social Security in 2010 article offering details about its’ future financial outlook and answering questions about the programs in which Social Security administers today.

In recent years, the retirement plan industry has undergone a great many changes and now another change may be on the horizon.

Plansponsor.com recently published a Bank of America survey that highlighted retirement benefits as one of the greatest factors in keeping capable employees loyal to a company. Aside from salary compensation and growth opportunity, providing a retirement savings mechanism for employees is one of the most attractive elements a company can offer to attain and retain top talent.

Retirement plan compliance is part of a team effort, a recent article reminds plan sponsors. The article, authored by employee benefits law firm Chang, Ruthenberg & Long, discusses several compliance-related issues such as Contribution Nondiscrimination Testing (CNT) and Form 5500 materials.