When you should ditch your 401k

Eight months ago, long before it went into Chapter 11, General Motors stopped matching workers' contributions to 401k retirement plans. Since then, one-fifth of U.S. employers have done likewise or at least reduced the amount of their matches, according to a survey by consulting company Watson Wyatt.
If your employer is one of these, it's time to consider shooting a sacred cow -- by dropping out of the 401k system.

FinCEN Moves to Streamline Mutual Fund BSA Requirements Proposal Would Require Mutual Funds to File CTRs

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would replace a mutual fund requirement to file IRS/FinCEN Form 8300 - Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business - with a requirement to file FinCEN Form 104, Currency Transaction Report (CTR), which is standard for financial institutions. Both forms document a transaction in currency above $10,000, but differ in some technical aspects.

"If adopted this proposal will bring the mutual fund industry into greater conformity with the rest of the financial industry, which currently files CTRs," said FinCEN Director James H. Freis, Jr. "The proposal would also free mutual funds from having to report applicable transactions involving certain negotiable instruments by moving to the CTR filing requirement and reduce paperwork for mutual funds and help FinCEN more directly identify suspicious activity involving money laundering and fraud."