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Oh, the $2 Trillion does not include retiree healthcare…

However, no thanks to the idea of trustees managing them. Haven’t we plenty of examples (as in Mr. Miller in your piece)in the mutual fund industry do a terrible job. Mutual Fund managers are trustees of other people’s money as well, be it a 401k or any other type of account.

One of my pet peaves is the government endorsed default option of Target Funds. Please… Plus Stable Value Funds which you have often covered here may have been all right for safety as we have needed in the melt down but really had me worried, too. Why so many 401ks do not have a pure T-bill money market option I do not understand. Now there’s a huge ready-market for all the government’s funding needs!

One thing I have observed is not the picking of “winning” investments to achieve a retirement savings goal, but diligent and consistent saving of as large an amount as possible. All the 401k participants who chase last year’s winners and find themselves with large losses could have ploughed their contributions into (almost no interest) stable value or any MM available, and been better off. There are lots of participants with no idea how to diversify their contributions, and sadly, only a tiny tiny percentage of advisors or brokers who don’t talk their own book and can be trusted, or follow up consistently rather than “sell and run”.

“The time may have come to consider returning 401(k) plans to their original position as a third tier of retirement planning, behind pensions and Social Security”