He is required by law to be independent and act in the best interests of plan participants.

And plan participants themselves chose how to divide their contributions to the plan.

The study found that 80 percent of plan participants actually do better under the cash balance formula.

But contact with the agency often goes well beyond an informational call by a plan participant.

The booklet, for example, advises plan participants to "make informed investment decisions."

But more often than not the assets are held by large financial institutions who provide a variety of investment options for plan participants.

In other words, only the employer has a contractual relationship with plan participants and beneficiaries.

But a key group remains outside the fold: 401(k) plan participants.

But experts in the field say plan participants are unlikely to detect subtle errors.

The additional stock can be used for purposes other than compensation of plan participants, the person said.