2012 will be a year of change for the retirement industry. Experts agree that 401(k) plan fee disclosure rules, affecting plan sponsors and plan participants, and the U.S. Department of Labor's reproposal of its rule amending the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act will have the most impact industry-wide. Tax reform legislation that could impact how individuals save for retirement is another issue that probably won't be decided in 2012, but will be debated a great deal.

"The biggest thing is the implementation of fee disclosure," said Brian Graff, executive director and CEO of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries. "This is the big new thing in 2012. People are going to get a lot more information than they thought of or wanted before.  The big question everyone is waiting to assess how plan sponsors and participants will react to the waterfall of information?"

Allen Vaughn, president and chief fiduciary auditor for 401-k.pro Fiduciary Managers/The 401k Advisory Group, Inc. in Dunwoody, Ga., said he believes 2012 will be the year of lawsuits.