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Hmmm … 401(k) plans can help you save money for retirement, but they many also cost you more than you realize. According to a new study from research firm Demos, the average American couple pay nearly $155,000 in 401(k) fees in the course of building up their proverbial nest egg; wealthier couples could pay nearly $278,000. These fees can reduce 401(k) savings by an average of 30 percent.

With hidden 401(k) fees back in the headlines, financial advisers say that in many cases it just doesn’t pay to leave your money in these plans—especially once you retire or switch employers. Recent findings from Demos, a research group, include this zinger: hidden fees may claim 30% of your savings.

It’s retirement wonk versus retirement wonk.

A recent headline in the Los Angeles Times managed to rile both supporters and detractors of the 401(k) plan industry’s opaque and often excessive fee structure. Citing new research, The Times asserted that “401(k) Fees Could Reduce Average Nest Egg by 30%.” There is definitely a problem. But that seems extreme.

Recently there’s been a brouhaha stirring over 401(k) retirement accounts. In a report entitled, The Retirement Savings Drain—The Hidden and Excessive Costs of 401(k)s—research firm Demos makes some startling claims about our beloved retirement accounts.

New York, NY – Leaders in the U.S. Senate recently introduced a bill that would help significantly shift the direction of the financial sector toward the common good by ensuring that independent directors, not industry executives, regulate the big banks. Introduced on May 22 by Senator Bernie Sanders, with co-sponsors Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Mark Begich, “The Federal Reserve Independence Act” (S.3219) would prohibit banking industry executives from serving as directors of the twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks.

While that may sound like good news, it may be masking underlying problems, researchers have found in a new study.

Portability, ownership and innovation are three key features of 401(k) plans that make them worth keeping. That was the case laid out by Paul Schott Stevens at a "town hall" meeting in Los Angeles this afternoon. The remarks lay out a defense of the mutual fund-heavy savings vehicle even as the plans have come under attack for the fees charged by mutual fund firms. 

A main obstacle to economic growth is that consumers don't have much money to spend, which is why the U.S. government needs to engage in more stimulus spending -- an imperative that was dramatically underscored by last Friday's bleak job numbers.