5 recommendations

GAO made five recommendations to Labor, including to require, in a manner deemed effective, that participants have investment options. It said the assistant secretary of the Employee Benefits Security Administration should require or take these actions:

That fee disclosures for participant-directed individual retirement accounts use a consistent term for asset-based investment fees, e.g., gross expense ratio.
That quarterly fee disclosures for participant-directed individual retirement accounts provide participants the actual cost of asset-based investment fees paid.
Take steps to provide participants important information concerning the cumulative effect of fees on savings over time. These could include ensuring that disclosures cite a working, specific Labor Department web address where such information is shown and requiring that fee disclosures include the agency's graphic illustration on the cumulative effect of fees.
Require that participant fee disclosures for participant-directed individual retirement accounts include fee benchmarks for in-plan investment options.
Require that participant fee disclosures for participant-directed individual retirement accounts include ticker information for in-plan investment options, when available.

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Surprise! Your participants don't understand 401(k) fees: GAO

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