The fee disclosure angle has certainly created a bit of extra buzz for the whole notion of defined contribution workplace retirement savings plans, but everyone is aware – employees especially – that simply offering a 401(k) or similar program at a workplace and then not saying anything about it or doing anything to encourage participants to be actively involved, does little to further employee participation.

The upside to fee disclosure may in fact be a moment, probably later this fall, where employees at long last actually open their 401(k) statements and ponder the costs associated with their accounts. 

Depending on the expression on their faces, it's also the moment when the retirement community can get involved – you'll either be hearing from human resources managers beset by angry participants, or you might get a proactive inquiry from those who are interested in looking for new and better opportunities for helping their participants make better returns.

There may also be some folks who are now genuinely interested in actively managing the money in their accounts – this year's returns haven't been great, but they're not the horrorshow of two or three years ago – and that's a great opportunity to provide education and encouragement.

The latter is the most important. For many employees – I consider myself among this group – the 401(k) option exists but is given the same weight at a workplace as group life insurance or that Worker's Comp placard in the lunchroom. You know it's there, you understand it might be important at some point, but you mostly ignore it.

Sadly, as federal-level retirement benefits are most assuredly not going to cover anything but the most basic of needs for Americans 20 or 30 years down the road, employees who are indifferent to their own retirement savings will be very unhappy about that in the future. Contributing more than just a little (or getting the contributions started again if they've held off during hard times) is indeed very important, but if nobody's telling them that, the concept is not going anywhere.

You know the drill. In the meantime, a variety of insurers and organizations have done the homework for you and can provide a pile of resources to try to bang that message home, today or … every day in the future.

Both ING and Principal Financial Group have developed some of their own materials; any carrier you work with will have plenty of additional, standalone material that will be appropriate for any participant group.