A recent Employee Benefit News article relays a study by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies that illustrates the mode and manner that participants prefer to receive information about fees and expenses associated with their 401(k) plans.

Maybe you joined the many ranks of investors who opted to close their eyes and shove their 401(k) statements in a drawer after the stock market hit rock bottom during the first quarter of 2009. According to an article in the Washington Post, you can finally stop avoiding your 401(k) account. In fact, you might even be pleased with the gains the market has returned recently.

In the second quarter of 2009, the stock market came back to life, encouraging many investors to dip back into mutual funds. MorningStar took a look at the top funds in today’s market and highlighted in an article the five hottest-selling funds. The PIMCO Total Return Fund, one of the 27 funds offered in NADART’s investment lineup, was chosen as one of the top five. With the economy slowly picking up speed, MorningStar focuses on why investors should choose these top five funds to invest in now while it’s a good time to jump back in the market. 

A bill introduced in the House of Representatives would extend the suspension of the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) through 2012, according to Planadviser.com. A similar bill in the Senate would extend the RMD through 2010. Normally, individuals age 70 ½ and older are required by the Internal Revenue Service to begin taking distributions from their 401(k) accounts annually. This requirement was suspended for 2009 with the passage of the Worker, Retiree and Employer Act of 2008.

More employers are looking at index funds as a desirable feature in a 401(k) plan, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. In a recent survey conducted by Hewitt Associates, 17% of the 150 employers surveyed said they are likely to replace some or all of their plan’s actively managed investment options with index funds.

Budding economic optimism emerged in the late months of spring 2009 after intensified policy actions to counter the economic crisis began to come into play. Central banks took further steps to ease monetary conditions, announcing new and unconventional measures that included cutting policy rates aggressively. Following the rebound of equity prices in May, credit markets came together as further policy actions and signs of financial system stabilization raised confidence among investors. 

According to an article by plansponsor.com, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D- New York) has designed a proposal plan that would initiate savings for college and retirement at birth.  This proposal, the American Saving for Personal Investment, Retirement, and Education Act (ASPIRE) of 2009, will encourage savings, promote personal fiscal responsibility, and expand individual opportunities by automatically creating a lifetime savings account for all newborn children.

For plan years beginning after December 31, 2009, plans will be required to offer a nonspousal rollover option, according to a recent article by the ERISA Law Group. While the Pension Protection Act of 2006 first brought up the possibility of adding this option, plans were not required to offer it. However, the Work, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 makes it mandatory to offer such an option after the aforementioned date.

Diversification is always a wise strategy, especially when it comes to investing for retirement. A recent “New York Times” (NYT) article discusses several ways of diversifying your investments in terms of your mix of stocks, bonds and other investment options.