But fees, for one thing, can take a big bite out of your savings. Do you know how much your plan costs? Even employers have a hard time answering that question.
"It seems impossible to get your hands on a solid number," said Kathleen Demarest, a senior manager in human resources at Synteract Inc. in Carlsbad, Calif.
Demarest investigated Synteract's plan, set up by a prior employee, after seeing its BrightScope rating. The company, which offers services related to clinical trials on a contract basis, employs about 260 workers.
"We got a rating of 51. The average rating for our peer group is 55, so we did OK," she said. "We didn't have employees coming in to complain or inquire about our plan, but (during the economic downturn) what people suddenly took a great interest in was what were their fees?" she said.
When they took that question to the company administering the plan, Demarest said, "We couldn't get a really solid answer."
Eventually, they found they were paying almost 2% for their plan. Now, with their new broker, they're paying 1.45% in total plan costs and are working to get that down to 1.25%, Demarest said.
Part of the problem is that fees can be hidden. It's easy to look up mutual-fund expense ratios but those "are not necessarily the end of the fees that participants pay, though it varies by plan," Greg McBride, senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com, said in e-mailed remarks.
"A separate administrative fee or asset charge can be assessed by the plan administrator. Sometimes this is covered by employers," he said. "Also, many plans now offer advice or management of the account for participants through an advisory service. The benefit is that it removes the burden of making investment decisions from the participant, but of course it comes with an additional fee."
Employers Are Taking Note
With workers increasingly concerned about fees--and lawmakers promising to require employers to better disclose fees--more companies are working to clarify who pays what and when.