Curious as to how your 401(k) plan compares to others? Business Week just published a list of the worst 401(k) plans based on criteria such as participation rate, default rate, fees, and employer match (see also “The Best 401(k) Plans). The full list includes fifty plans. I’ve listed the twenty worst plans below.

  1. Darden Restaurants
  2. Big Lots
  3. RadioShack
  4. Zale
  5. Compass Group USA
  6. Bob Evans Farms
  7. MPS Group
  8. O’Reilly Automotive
  9. Best Buy
  10. Pep Boys
  11. CSK Auto
  12. Lowe’s
  13. Whole Foods Market
  14. Bon-Ton Stores
  15. Safeway
  16. Northrop Grumman
  17. AutoNation
  18. Penske Automotive Group
  19. TCF Financial
  20. OfficeMax

The full list is heavily populated with restaurant chains and retailers. Other notable names include Borders, Kohls, Walmart, Burger King, Target, JC Penney, and Home Depot. Is your employer listed?

Oh, and here’s a bit of 401(k) trivia for you… Total 401(k) holdings across the United States stood at $3 trillion at the end of 2007. Fast forward one year to the end of 2008, and… Poof. $2.4 trillion. That’s $600B that just evaporated.

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