401k Admin Fees?

[baseballplerrr]

I work for a very small company. Great place to work, but I know we're getting fleeced on our 401k Admin Fees, thru John Hancock. I want to go to the owner of the company and let him know just how bad this is… At the same time, I'm not sure I have a great understanding of what the fees actually total.

I called JH, and they were literally useless. They couldn't give me any type of breakdown. Is anyone here savvy enough to decipher what exactly my fees are if I sent over plan details?

I want to propose alternative brokerages, but I could really use a better understanding of what I'm paying. If I'm reading my docs correctly, we're paying like 1.32% in admin fees before any expense ratios, and these aren't even actively managed accounts.

If one of you fine people has some spare time in the near future, shoot me a DM and I'd like to potential discuss. I'll Venmo you a few bucks for a beer

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[baseballplerrr]

Sheeit, it might be even worse than I thought. It's looking like 2.12% annual admin fees.

 

[66PonyCar]

Use one of the AI models to analyze the document and give you a synopis of the fees you're paying.

 

[baseballplerrr]

great minds think alike. Just dropped it in there and got my answer. Time to have a chat with the partners…

 

[66PonyCar]

So, what did AI tell you about the fees?

 

[NoMadMeHappy]

I used to work for a small engineering company that had a SIMPLE plan. The administrator was a family friend of one of the principles. As best I could tell we were getting fleeced. I felt I had no leg to stand on. "Umm... mister owner, I think your family friend is ripping us off." Very frustrating and I didn't last there much more than 3 years.

 

[baseballplerrr]

So, what did AI tell you about the fees?

2.12%, as I suspected. I'm gonna push for the company to move off the Hancock platform. That's highway robbery.

 

[baseballplerrr]

I used to work for a small engineering company that had a SIMPLE plan. The administrator was a family friend of one of the principles. As best I could tell we were getting fleeced. I felt I had no leg to stand on. "Umm... mister owner, I think your family friend is ripping us off." Very frustrating and I didn't last there much more than 3 years.

From my research, there's a lot of options out there for Small company's, and they look a hell of lot better than what we're working with now. Hopefully they'll be receptive to my suggestions.

 

[66PonyCar]

Vanguard handles 401k plans for small businesses. Look at their website for more information. Use their fee structure as a comparison for John Hancock when approaching your employer. Or even better again using AI have it draw up the analysis comparing the two companies and it can prepare a polished presentation you can show your employer. They don't necessarily have to go with Vanguard, but they can see they're getting hosed.

 

[baseballplerrr]

Vanguard handles 401k plans for small businesses. Look at their website for more information. Use their fee structure as a comparison for John Hancock when approaching your employer. Or even better again using AI have it draw up the analysis comparing the two companies and it can prepare a polished presentation you can show your employer. They don't necessarily have to go with Vanguard, but they can see they're getting hosed.

I think that's the route I'm gonna go. I'm currently drafting up an outline for a proposal as we speak.

It's obscene to me that admin fees could be over $2000 a year, on a $100k account, that they aren't even actively managing. I've been reading now Hancock is the absolute worst and has actually had suits filed against them for these fees and how they handle them. Wish I would had paid more attention a couple years ago… oh well, long way to retirement anyway.

 

[dplev4]

2.1 Admin fees is high. 1.3 for smaller sums is high as well but more typical.
Fidelity's fees average 0.5%. Vanguard same or less.
Fees can be based on total sum of your company's 401k account. And then there are fees for mutual fund and ETF managed investments separate from the Admin costs. Could the fees you are concerned about include them too? If so that would not be unreasonable.

 

[baseballplerrr]

These are strictly admin fees. The managed accounts have an additional fee (.50% down to .20%, based on account size). The admin fees plus whatever the expense ratio is of the product you're contributing to. My ER is only .05% as it's just a basic S&P500 fund.

 

[dplev4]

These are strictly admin fees.

Then yes, 2.1% is high.

 

[baseballplerrr]

Then yes, 2.1% is high.

Facts.

 

[TTSX]

The company I work for has a total fee schedule of .52% so.....

 

[Hawaiian]

Way too high. 1% is the going rate for an investment count which includes a personal financial advisor. It should be around half that for a basic 401k admin fee.