Retirement plan sponsors and consultants up on the latest ideas about best practices in defined contribution plans may have support for plan design reform from an unexpected source: plan participants themselves.

The government unlocked its doors Thursday after 16 days, with President Barack Obama saluting the resolution of Congress' bitter standoff but lambasting Republicans for the partial shutdown that he said had damaged the U.S. economy and America's credibility around the world.

UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s third-quarter earnings inched up 1 percent in a rare performance that failed to trump Wall Street expectations.