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I've dealt with an investment company when I was on a 401k committee a couple of jobs ago. The investment company put up a lot of bad choices for us to choose among (high costs, badly suited for us) and they fought like a cornered rat when I and a couple of other committee members insisted that one of the choices be a simple, low cost (well, lowish cost) S&P 500 index fund.

Do I trust the Obama administration to do this right? No. I expect it's just a method of reshuffling the bribe deck so that the investment companies must hire new advisers on K Street for protection. But the investment companies are certainly not close to looking out for the workers.

A more recent job had the best option I've seen: each employee was given a Schwab account and had access to just about the full list of investments there at regular Schwab commissions.

High-Court Spotlight Put on 401(k) Plans
Supreme Court to hear arguments in case that could have broad implications for the way people save for retirement

By Liz Moyer
Feb. 23, 2015 1:35 p.m. ET

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday in a case that could have broad implications for the way millions of Americans save for retirement.

The court will focus on a narrow issue concerning the statute of limitations in the case, called Tibble v. Edison International . A ruling against Edison could trigger a wave of lawsuits against companies over the way they set up and manage 401(k) retirement accounts and similar plans, according to lawyers not involved with the case.

Tibble is one of 13 class-action lawsuits filed in the past eight years that have accused U.S. companies, including Boeing Co. and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., of failing to act in the best interest of employees who participate in their 401(k) plans. The issues include failing to monitor excessive fees, favoring some high-cost retail mutual funds over lower-cost options and funneling employee savings into investment products managed by affiliate companies.

The case comes as the Obama administration is placing heightened scrutiny on retirement plans, the fees they charge and the potential for adviser conflicts.

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a simple, low cost (well, lowish cost) S&P 500 index fund.

Bless you for doing that. At my last job, I couldn't believe that the 401k offered a 500 index charging somewhere north of 2%. Nearly criminal, that. More than 20X what I'm paying, elsewhere.

When I discussed this with our 401K administrator, I was informed that he couldn't get rid of it, because "It was the most popular option". I figure that either he was getting kickbacks, or there were an awful lot of dumb people working at that company. Or, it could easily have been both. :-)

Good investment advice is hard to find.