I don’t manage 401(k) or retirement plans, but I’m a huge proponent of them for all businesses – it is a highly desired and inexpensive employee benefit.

I find that a number of small businesses are content to use a friend or acquaintance to manage the recordkeeping and money management of their 401(k)’s – and this is where it backfires.

You should immediately demand that your fund manager disclose all the fees – most of them borne by participants – in the plan. It should be Priority One as the new year gets underway.

It’s great that government is finally doing something about it – but I fear the solution will be a long time away, and those fees add up every day.