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Comparing your 401(k)
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March 2, 2000: 6:30 a.m. ET
Expert says plans will vary widely between big and small companies
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - It's hard to know how your 401(k) stacks up against plans at other companies. Many people don't know where to turn to find out if their retirement plan is a lemon.
In response to a reader's question, Marc Collier, a certified financial planner from Wellesley, Mass., and a member of the National Financial Planning Association, explains some key differences between different company plans.
Ask the expert a question.
What is a typical match in a 401(k) plan at companies of different sizes? I work for a micro-cap company that currently provides a 50 percent match for the first four percent that the employee contributes. I contribute the maximum of 15 percent of my pay into my 401(k) -- the max allowed under the law -- and I want to lobby for my company to increase its match. I'm also researching investing options. We currently have five selections that aren't all that bad, but every year I manage to get better returns in my IRA. What's your advice?
It has been my experience to see a 50 percent match of the first six percent of an employee's contributions. There is no hard and fast rule; however, this is the most common.
As far as performance and fund choices are concerned, most 401(k) plans offer a variety of fund choices covering different market sectors. Some plans have a much wider selection than others. And some plans, especially the smaller ones, work through one fund company or an insurance company and choices may be limited.
Most 401(k) plans at larger companies tend to have more fund choices than the smaller company plans.
At a smaller plan, the choices should generally include a safe fixed-income account, a large-cap fund that tracks the S&P 500, a balanced fund that mixes stocks and bonds, and a more aggressive small-cap offering. In addition, it may also include an international fund.
In larger plans with more choices, you could possibly see large-cap growth, value and blend funds; small-cap funds and mid-cap funds; and even specialty funds. The choices may also come from different fund families. But these plans generally have much higher administrative costs and therefore are not popular with most small businesses.
If your plan does not offer a selection you like, speak with the people in human resources at your company and see if they might consider a better plan. Maybe no one has ever asked.
As anyone knows, any particular choice may be great one year and then lag the next year. It is difficult to always be a top performer all of the time.
Lastly, for possible resources to get average contribution figures, try Cerulli Associates, a research firm in Boston, or the Employee Benefits Research Institute in Washington, D.C. 
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