In the past several years, increasing attention has come to 401(k) plan fees. As a result of this and new regulations from the Department of Labor concerning plan fees, more companies are offering “collective investment funds” as part of the fund options available in their 401(k) plans, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. In a study conducted by research and consulting firm Greenwich Associates, the number of large defined-contribution plans that used collective funds last year was up six percent from two years earlier.

Looking to improve your company’s 401(k) plan? Bankrate.com recently wrote about four options that can help give your company’s retirement plan a boost:

If you have concerns about your plan passing the Contribution Nondiscrimination Testing or Top Heavy Testing, you may want to investigate sponsoring a safe harbor 401(k) plan. A recent article by McKay Hochman Company, Inc. discusses some of the frequently asked questions on the topic.

If you sponsor a 401(k) plan, you should take note that the deadline for submitting
Form 5500 is July 31 following the close of the plan year (for calendar year plans).The Form 5500 is required by the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor annually. The 5500 provides statistical information about the plan and plan sponsors, reports financial information about the plan, and demonstrates compliance with 401(k) rules. A Form 5558 may be filed to extend this deadline to October 15.

As just one of the many services we offer to our plan sponsors, NADART takes care of completing the forms on behalf of our clients and submitting them electronically by the stated deadline. If you would like to learn more about our plans and the retirement plan services, we offer, please contact a NADART representative at (800) 462-3278, ext. 7161 or e-mail nadart401k@nada.org.

In a recent article, Kiplinger.com featured six ways to retire rich. The article is an excellent resource, and worth a full look. Below is a summary of what participants need to do successfully save for retirement:

If you want to know more about the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed “seven-day” rule on the timely deposit of employee contributions, you may want to read a recent article on the Plansponsor.com. (You will need to set up a username and password on that site, but the registration is free of charge.)

The Washington Post reports that two large companies, Lockheed Martin and Nationwide Financial Services, have seen a dramatic increase in 401(k) participation since incorporating automatic enrollment. At Nationwide, for instance, 96% of employees are participating in the retirement plan, compared with 74% two years ago.