It's so you don't get sued

In a post titled, "Why 401(k) Plan Sponsors Should Make Sure Education and Advice is Offered To Their Participants", Ari Rosenbaum points out:

"Studies have shown that the use of investment education and advice has increased the rate of return for participants.  So plan sponsors who want to boost employee morale, one way is to help increase the retirement savings of their employees because better informed participants will make better investment decisions and net better returns."

Education (including, we might add, good quality information about the mutual funds offered) helps make employees happier about their retirement plan, but Rosenbaum's scarier point is, "Offering education and advice goes a long way in satisfying the fiduciary process under ERISA §404(c) to limit a plan sponsor’s liability."