Labor Dept. releases new 401k fee disclosure rules (AP)

Brian Rezny submits: In a move meant to protect investors from hidden fees in their retirement plans, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) issued a final rule last week that will require plan administrators to provide employees with more transparent information about fees and expenses related to their retirement accounts. The issue: employees are responsible for making decisions about the investments in their 401(k), but they often make th

AP - Workers with 401(k) retirement accounts are due to receive improved disclosures about the fees they're paying. The Department of Labor has mandated such disclosure beginning next year and on Tuesday said the information may be delivered electronically by email or through a secure website.

Via Michael Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

In spite of the alleged recovery, in spite of falling unemployment numbers, and in spite of a stock market boom, Wells Fargo 401(k) Loans Jump 28% as Older Workers Borrow. The number of people taking loans from their 401(k) retirement accounts increased 28 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier as older workers tapped their savings, according to Wells Fargo (WFC) & Co.

Dipping into your 401(k) plan is tantamount to journeying into the future, mugging your 65-year-old self, and then booking it back to present day life. 

Folks, I know what you’re whispering when I walk into the room: “That guy really knows his tax-advantaged accounts.” It’s my one superpower. (Well, I’m also pretty good at making omelets.) A New Year is upon us and now is the time to tell you what you need to know about tax-advantaged accounts for 2013.

Federal disclosure rules that go into effect Sunday will make it easier for workers and retirees to see how much their 401(k) accounts are being docked in fees.