The times are scary. Bailouts, plan failures, layoffs, bankruptcies, corporate takeovers. The market is a bear.

In these trying times, allowing your employees to be free to direct their own financial future is not always foolproof. With corporate scandals and collapses in companies such as Enron and Worldcom, employees are angry, and may look to you for guidance ? or blame ? if their 401k accounts lose money or are depleted.

In the last two years, we have seen a rise in ERISA litigation brought against fiduciaries, including administrators of 401k plans. Many times these fiduciaries did not realize their status under ERISA until it was too late.

Identifying a fiduciary is not always easy under ERISA. Persons are deemed to be fiduciaries based on the work and services they perform on behalf of the plan, not necessarily by their job title.

Please see full alert for more information.