Legal

Medicare Advantage premiums have fallen by 7 percent, on average, while enrollment in the program has risen by about 10 percent since this time last year, according to Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

In the wake of American Airlines' announcement that it plans to terminate its pension plans as part of its bankruptcy reorganization, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has reiterated the company should reconsider the move.

Plan sponsors will now have until July 1 to meet the much-discussed regulations on 401(k) fee disclosure, following Department of Labor announcements Thursday on the final rulings.

The Los Angeles city attorney has sued a major financial institution, alleging its investment practices cost the city's pension fund $95 million.

Don't get caught serving two masters. Dr. Ron Rhoades, recently named fiduciary of the year, warns against revenue sharing and 12b-1 fees.

The company also wants union approval to drop its traditional pension plans, which cover 130,000 employees and retirees. It would replace them with 401(k)-type plans under which the company contributes to workers' retirement accounts.

Participants in public school 403(b) plans will get some of the same disclosure information and protection as their 401(k) counterparts, thanks to new recommended transparency standards announced Wednesday.

When it comes to issues that affect Americans ability to retire, the jury is still out on what the 2012 presidential election will bring.