After Occupy Wall Street, Occupy 401(k)?

Retirement plan sponsors, beware! The anger that fueled Occupy Wall Street and, closer to home, Occupy Sacramento and Occupy Stockton, could spread to the 401(k) world.

You may think Smart Investor is kidding. But we're not.

Consider this statement by respected financial columnist Ron Lieber: "...people who are lucky enough to be employed and have a retirement plan ought to be staging a sit-in in the office of the person who runs that 401(k) plan." He made this comment in "5 Ways to Think About Nuisance Fees" in The New York Times (Nov. 18).

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Retirement Plan Sponsors' 401(k) Perceptions vs. Reality

Most plan sponsors don't feel the urgency of fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility to their defined contribution plans. There are three main reasons these business owners stick with their current plans, even if the plan has flaws that cost their employees. However, these reasons rest on mistaken assumptions.

1. Unaware of fiduciary status. These plan sponsors say, "What's a fiduciary? Who? Me?" Sometimes the fiduciaries' identities should be obvious because they're named in plan documents. Sometimes, identifying fiduciaries requires familiarity with the term's definition. You are a fiduciary if you exercise control over the plan, provide advice to the plan or its participants, or select or supervise other plan fiduciaries. This broad definition embraces many employees at the plan sponsor who may never have heard the word "fiduciary."

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