5 big holes in your 401(k) nest egg

5 big holes in your 401(k) nest egg - MSN Money: "

Rolling over rollover rights to an IRA
Especially at small and midsize plans, investment options are lousy and expenses outrageously high; anything over 1.0% in fund expense ratios is suspect. But the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, which lays out 401(k) rules, does give older workers, who tend to have the biggest balances, an escape clause into individual retirement accounts.

"Technically, ERISA allows an employee, once they reach age 59 1/2, the ability to roll out of the current 401(k) and into an IRA while still allowing payroll contributions to the 401(k)," says Greg Plechner, a principal of Greenbaum and Orecchio of Old Tappan, N.J.

These are called in-service rollovers, but because administrators hate to lose assets, your plan may discourage or even forbid them. If you qualify for this exemption and you're stuck in a lousy, expensive plan at work, you have leverage to demand your rights. Start with your plan's investment committee.

Like cubicles, 401(k) plans are cheap and ugly, reminding employees how little they are valued. But because the fates have conspired to put you in charge of your personal pension plan, you owe it to yourself to do it well. If the company plan stinks, say so. And don't be afraid to squawk to the U.S. Department of Labor. That's where the 401(k) buck stops."