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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Investor Alley => Topic started by: erup on May 06, 2015, 04:20:46 PM

Title: 401k Fees from Great-West Retirement Services
Post by: erup on May 06, 2015, 04:20:46 PM
Hey guys,

Long time lurker here but first time poster.

I'm currently investing in the Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Inv fund through Great-West Retirement Services. They state that the plan has an ER of 0.18%.

Nowhere on their website does it mention any other hidden fees. I've called them twice and have spoken to two different reps and have asked them to list out any additional fees aside from the ER of the actual fund I am investing in:

* management fees
* other expenses
* record keeping fees

Both phone calls I have had with them so far haven't given me anything. Really? How are they going to tell me they don't take any percentage out for admin-ing my 401k?

Am I asking the question incorrectly to these reps? How would you phrase this question to them? I don't feel like I am getting any clear answers out of them.

Thanks for your help/advice in advance!
Title: Re: 401k Fees from Great-West Retirement Services
Post by: KungfuRabbit on May 06, 2015, 04:42:14 PM
its there somewhere.

at my company our 401k plan lists a ER of 0.18% and has a "variable" administrative fee of no more than 0.02%.  i dont know why they pretend they won't take out the full amount, but anyhow total is 0.20% which is fine by me. 

so my guess is either the people you are talking to are not educated, or your employer is paying them a fee to cover it for you. 
Title: Re: 401k Fees from Great-West Retirement Services
Post by: RangerOne on May 06, 2015, 04:57:35 PM
That is the exact expense ratio as it shows up on Vanguard's website.

Yeah they have a note about a $20 fee or something. But that is not a big deal once you have a lot of money in there.

Vanguard is pretty awesome.
Title: Re: 401k Fees from Great-West Retirement Services
Post by: erup on May 06, 2015, 05:08:03 PM
That is the exact expense ratio as it shows up on Vanguard's website.

Yeah they have a note about a $20 fee or something. But that is not a big deal once you have a lot of money in there.

Vanguard is pretty awesome.

Yeah, I saw that the ER was the same as what Vanguard shows. If it's only $20/year, I'm not too worried. Just really difficult to get a clear answer from them.

Thanks!
Title: Re: 401k Fees from Great-West Retirement Services
Post by: TheDude on May 06, 2015, 05:12:26 PM
My company uses Fidelity as their 401k provider. They do not charge any fees to us anyway (most likely the company pays fees). We have the same vanguard target retirement funds with an expense ratio of .11% You should be able to find any additional fees in the paperwork related to the account. It maybe buried but its there somewhere.
Title: Re: 401k Fees from Great-West Retirement Services
Post by: skyrefuge on May 06, 2015, 05:21:16 PM
How would you phrase this question to them? I don't feel like I am getting any clear answers out of them.

It sounds to me like they've given you a clear answer, you're just unwilling to accept that answer for some reason. I guess because you've been given such a negative view of 401(k) plans that you don't think "no hidden fees" is possible?

In the 6 different 401(k) plans I've had, I think I've only had one with "extra" fees on top of the fund expense-ratios. So at least in my industry, such a thing is not unusual.

One of those 401(k) plans was even from GreatWest, which is one that I don't recall having any extra fees. Not that that means all GreatWest plans a "extra-fee-free", since all their plans can likely vary based on different deals with the employers. In my case, no Vanguard funds were offered in that plan, and the S&P500 index fund had a 0.60 ER, so I presume that's how they made their money. In your case, it's likely that your employer is explicitly paying them a fee.
Title: Re: 401k Fees from Great-West Retirement Services
Post by: erup on May 07, 2015, 11:05:04 AM
Sounds good. Thanks guys. I have been given a fairly negative outlook on 401K's from this provider, but perhaps my company is just footing the bill as far as maint fees/admin fees go.