MMC Benefits Handbook
Account and Investment Management Fees
Generally, the Company or Marsh McLennan pays the administrative expenses related to operating the Plan and the participants pay the investment management fees. However, you indirectly bear certain administrative costs that are paid from the investment management fees charged by certain funds offered in the Plan. In addition, certain expenses may be charged directly to your account based on certain account transactions.
When you invest in a fund other than the MMC Stock Fund, there is a fee charged as a percentage of assets invested. That fee is reflected as an offset to the fund's investment returns. The fees charged by each fund are shown in the fund's Fund Fact Sheet. That fee covers the fund's investment management expenses, and for some funds, a portion of that fee may also be used to cover certain administrative costs of the Plan. Since the fee offsets the investment returns you receive, this fee commensurately lowers your investment returns and thus your total account value.
If the portion of the investment management fee set aside to cover administrative costs exceeds those administrative costs for a particular year, participants with a Plan account balance at the time of the allocation will receive a distribution of any excess amount.
The Plan Administrator determines how to reasonably charge expenses to accounts, including accounts of terminated participants, beneficiaries and alternate payees. If the Company ceases to pay Plan expenses, Plan expenses will be charged to Plan accounts in a reasonable manner to be determined by the Plan Administrator.
The Department of Labor advises participants in plans like this Plan to carefully review and assess the fees charged. In certain cases, the cumulative effect of fees and expenses for each investment option can substantially reduce the growth of your retirement savings. Visit the Department of Labor's website at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/401k_employee.html for an example showing the long-term effect of fees and expenses. Fees and expenses are only one of the many factors to consider when you decide to invest in a particular fund within the Plan. You may also want to think about whether an investment in a particular fund, along with your other investments, will help you achieve your financial goals.