Premiums for these self-directed plans vary, but they tend to be lower than those in health maintenance organizations and preferred-provider organizations.
Also known as a self-directed plan, this allows people to go beyond the 10 or 20 options that an employer has chosen and select from thousands of other mutual or exchange-traded funds.
These are unlike the self-directed plans most people have.
In traditional plans, your choices are generally limited to stock and bond funds of various types, but self-directed plan participants can invest in almost anything, with few exceptions, such as art and certain collectibles.
If your firm does offer a self-directed plan, the best way to about switching your plan is to call the plan provider and ask them to switch your plan to a self-directed plan.
The self-directed plan makes sense, because unlike other 401k plans, you will have the option of open architecture investing.
If you do not see this option on the website, the best way to find out about the plan is to call your 401k plan provider directly and ask if they offer a self-directed plan.
Cheaper plans offer no adviser, and variable annuities are best for "people who are uncomfortable performing self-directed retirement planning," says an official at Security Benefit, which runs the NEA program.
During the commission's meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Pitt said that "one-third of Americans invest in the markets through 401(k) plans, I.R.A.'s and similar self-directed retirement plans," and that in coming decades, people would increasingly turn to Internet-based services.
For self-directed retirement plans for the wealthy who are "in the know," those plans are just the beginning.
