New Rules Encourage Employees To Diversify 401(k) Savings - WSJ.com

New Rules Encourage Employees To Diversify 401(k) Savings - WSJ.com: "New rules designed to help employees avoid being stuck with too much of their own company's stock were issued Wednesday by the Internal Revenue Service.

Under the regulations, 401(k) plans and employee stock-ownership plans within 401(k)s must allow plan participants to sell company stock and reinvest the assets at 'periodic, reasonable opportunities,' and no less often than quarterly."

Investment Guru Russell: Stocks Risk Meltdown

Investment Guru Russell: Stocks Risk Meltdown: "The May 7 low for the Dow industrials was 10,221, about 1.5 percent below recent levels.

And the low for the transportation average was 4,243, about 1.4 percent below recent levels.

“If I read the stock market correctly, it’s telling me that there is a surprise ahead,” Russell wrote. “And that surprise will be a reversal to the downside for the economy, plus a collection of other troubles ahead.”

Russell, 85, has put out his newsletter every three weeks for 52 years."

GOP, Dems clash over modifying 401(k) plans - SFGate

GOP, Dems clash over modifying 401(k) plans - SFGate: "The 401(k) plan has become a political football.

Some Republicans have created a mashup of ideas leaving the impression the federal government wants to take over your 401(k) account. Democrats deny that notion.

'Republican claims are pure fantasy. It's like saying we want to put unicorns on the endangered species list,' says Aaron Albright, press secretary for the House Committee on Education and Labor, chaired by Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez."

Mad About 401(k) Annuities | Retirement Income Journal - The information forum of the decumulation industry.

Mad About 401(k) Annuities | Retirement Income Journal - The information forum of the decumulation industry.: "Scores of blunt, angry e-mails warning the government to “keep its hands off my hard-earned money” began arriving in the Department of Labor's email box last February after the DoL issued its Request for Information (RFI) about encouraging the inclusion of annuities as distribution options in 401(k) plans."

Government gets an earful on 401(k) proposal - Personal finance- msnbc.com

Government gets an earful on 401(k) proposal - Personal finance- msnbc.com: "What happens when the government considers tinkering with retirement accounts and asks for citizen input?

It gets plenty.

Government officials began seeking comments in February on a proposal to add an annuity option to retirement plans. Such an option would potentially turn a portion of a retiree's savings over to an insurance company in exchange for a monthly check."

Lexology - IRS asking employers to answer 401(k) questionnaire

Lexology - IRS asking employers to answer 401(k) questionnaire: "The IRS announced last week that it will be looking at 1,200 401(k) plans by way of a plan compliance questionnaire."

Your retirement savings may be next

Your retirement savings may be next: "Could� the Democrats in Congress actually be considering confiscating all 401(k), SEP and IRA accounts in exchange for offering Americans a 'guaranteed annuity'?

The� subject almost seems too far out there to even write about. While it is something that I had heard rumors of, I just couldn't believe this type of proposal would ever be considered in America. Let� alone become part of an active public policy debate."

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - House Republicans send letter regarding 'GRAs'

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - House Republicans send letter regarding 'GRAs': "Rep. Howard P. 'Buck' McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) and members of the House GOP Savings Recovery Solutions Group, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, sent�this letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner regarding proposed 'Guaranteed Retirement Accounts' (GRAs)�on Monday, May 3."

Get Ready For Obama's Next Target - Your 401(k) :: Political News and commentaries :: Hyscience

Get Ready For Obama's Next Target - Your 401(k) :: Political News and commentaries :: Hyscience: "First it was the banks, then the insurance companies, then the auto industry, then healthcare, and now, if this article is accurate, the piece de resistance - the private savings accounts of millions of middle-class Americans - your 401(k):"

Will New Rules Lead To Better Or Less 401(k) Advice? - Forbes.com

Will New Rules Lead To Better Or Less 401(k) Advice? - Forbes.com: "There's an obscure battle raging in Washington that could have a big effect on how you invest for retirement. Officials at the Department of Labor have proposed new regulations that they say will protect 401(k) participants and Individual Retirement Account holders from greedy advisors who have conflicts of interest. But some financial industry participants insist the rules will backfire, leaving employees with less or incomplete advice."

Obama Administration Plans to Seize 401(k) Retirement Accounts

Obama Administration Plans to Seize 401(k) Retirement Accounts: "The upshot of that clunky prose is that the Obama administration believes that employers cannot be relied upon to adequately manage the 401(k) retirement accounts it provides for their employees, therefore the federal government will relieve them of that responsibility and take sole discretionary control of those funds, thus eliminating the risk of mismanagement. In other words, the Obama administration is planning to divert the “stream of income after retirement” and channel it right through Washington, D.C.�"

Republicans Warn Against Changes to 401(K) Policy - WSJ.com

Republicans Warn Against Changes to 401(K) Policy - WSJ.com: "Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday warned the Obama administration not to adopt any policies that could modify tax breaks generally provided to 401(k)-type plans.

The Treasury and Labor departments, in February, issued a 'request for information,' seeking input on 'arrangements designed to provide a lifetime stream of income after retirement.' That phrasing has been interpreted by some observers to mean a conversion to 'guaranteed retirement accounts' from defined-contribution plans, such as 401(k)s.

Republican lawmakers are concerned that implementation of some sort of guaranteed retirement accounts could mean that tax breaks on 401(k)-type plans would be ..."

Republicans Sound Alarm on Administration Plan to Seize 401(k)s - HUMAN EVENTS

Republicans Sound Alarm on Administration Plan to Seize 401(k)s - HUMAN EVENTS: "In February, the White House released its “Annual Report on the Middle Class” containing new regulations favored by Big Labor including a bailout of critically underfunded union pension plans through “retirement security” options.

The radical solution most favored by Big Labor is the seizure of private 401(k) plans for government disbursement -- which lets them off the hook for their collapsing retirement scheme.� And, of course, the Obama administration is eager to accommodate their buddies.

Vice President Joe Biden floated the idea, called “Guaranteed Retirement Accounts” (GRAs), in the February “Middle Class” report.�"