It isn't easy picking investments when quality bonds offer meager yields, stocks seem bipolar and the richest economies are struggling to expand. But many 401k investors face an added challenge: choosing from a mutual-fund menu that is too limited, pricey or both.
The average 401k offers 24 fund choices, according to research firm BrightScope, which tracks plan data. That should be plenty, but the choices often are redundant when it comes to stock and bond funds -- and sorely lacking in other areas.
Some plans leave out entire asset classes, like small-company or international stocks, and fewer than 3% of plans offer funds that invest in inflation-fighting assets like real estate, commodities and Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS, according to Mike Alfred, BrightScope's chief executive.
There are two other problems: Some plans offer several funds from a single family, which raises the question of whether each is a top choice in its category; some plans offer funds that charge high fees. The average plan with more than $100 million in assets charges 1.1% of assets a year, according to Alfred, including fund expenses, which are stated, and plan administrative fees, which often aren't. (The latter are often taken from returns.)
That suddenly seems like a lot, considering that the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) returned just 2.6% a year over the past decade, and that fees on the cheapest index mutual funds are less than 0.2% of assets.
The good news is that many plans are making improvements, thanks to increased use by regulators of the F-word -- "fiduciary," as in the financial responsibility of employers toward their plan participants.
New Labor Department rules that take effect in mid-2012 will make 401k costs easier to find, including those mysterious administrative fees. An overhaul of plan requirements, including minimum fund choices, is also in the works.
Some employers are making changes ahead of the legislation. One reason, says Alfred, is the recent success of participant lawsuits claiming their plans were too costly.
If your 401k plan isn't yet up to par, here are some ways to make the best of what you have.
1. Try a jailbreak. If you feel constrained by your investment options, attempt to break out. The Internal Revenue Service allows workers age 59 1/2 and older to withdraw 401k money tax-free, provided they roll it over into an individual retirement account. Nearly all 401k plans offer this feature, says David Wray, the president of the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America.
About 5% of plans even allow younger workers to perform rollovers without leaving their company. The IRS prohibits this for pretax worker contributions but not for employer matching contributions.
Companies that handle rollover IRAs, including Vanguard Group, Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab (SCHW, news), offer access to stocks, bonds and thousands of mutual funds.
If a jailbreak isn't possible, look for a window. About 20% of plans, up from 16% five years ago, offer brokerage windows through which workers can buy stocks, bonds and other assets. These can allow experienced investors to follow highly specific investment strategies, but novices should be careful to seek advice, says Christine Benz, the director of personal finance at Morningstar.
Just in case the thought has occurred to you, no, you can't take a 401k loan, default on it and deposit the proceeds into an IRA as a 60-day rollover. The IRS forbids it. The same goes for hardship withdrawals -- 85% of plans allow them, but you can't take one as part of a rollover plan.
Bachmann says we should have fought to stay and that Iraq disrespects the US by asking us to go. She's dumber than Perry and Romney combined. They all want to keep fighting their Christian Crusades after 2000 years of losses. The Republicans Presidential candidates are some real sick puppies.
Let's get out off Afgan by next Tuesday too.
You've all been duped and fleeced. GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN! 
