Voya 401k - Net Op Exp is 1.65%-2.33%

[Steeze]

Going through an older thread I notice someone mention that Voya posts lower expense ratios in the prospectus of their funds than they actually charge and that you have to look into the Participant Disclosure on the Plan Info page to see the actual fees which include the 401k administration fees.

After looking into this I found that all of the fund options in my 401k have between a 1.65% to 2.43% Net ER. The lower range being the VOYA total stock market index and the average being just over 2%. I currently have a 50/50 mix of the Voya total index and a global index, and the global index has a 1.99% ER.

My question is, should this change my investing order at all, or just keep plugging away and ignore the expense ratios? I am currently maxing my 401k to 18.5k and fully funding a ROTH.

Is there anything I can do to get around these fees? I am 30 yo, and in-service withdrawals are not available to me. I am likely not going to be successful in convincing ownership to take on additional expenses to lower the employee's expense ratios.

Any advice or suggestions are welcome, thanks in advance!

[Reddleman]

Went through this with my employer.

Is Voya the only option as a provider for you?  Unless it's a very small employer, most have various options through some sort of custodial agreement. 

Depending on how much you want to invest and eligibility, you should definitely consider funding your Traditional or Roth IRA first.  You can select your provider for this, and at least the first $5,500 would be in a low fee deferred provider.

[Steeze]

Thanks Reddleman.

Yes it's a small company, 4 employees when I started and 20 or so now after 3 years. Voya is our only option, and I am already maxing my ROTH with very low cost index funds.

Just curious if people would recommend investing in say a taxable account with fees at .03% instead of investing in the 401k above the company match with fees at 2%. Or if there is any reasonable way around the high fees that I should be looking into.

I will definitely be talking with ownership about the situation, but they are not likely to take on the costs themselves.

[Mr. Metal Mustache]

My wife has Voya for her 403 (b). In their investment options we were able to choose VTSAX with a .04 exp ratio. I'm assuming thats it for fees.... Maybe I need to dig into it more then but I didn't see any mention of administration fees.

[facepalm]

My wife has Voya for her 403 (b). In their investment options we were able to choose VTSAX with a .04 exp ratio. I'm assuming thats it for fees.... Maybe I need to dig into it more then but I didn't see any mention of administration fees.

VOYA will generally have an additional management fee for a 403 or 457 plan. I have a 457 with them and they charge .025.