NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The company an employee works for makes all the difference. Over the course of a 40-year career, workers at some companies lose tens of thousands of dollars in 401(k) fees and earnings -- sometimes more than double the savings lost by workers at other firms, according to an exclusive analysis of about 2,300 company 401(k) plans by FutureAdvisor, an online financial adviser.

Each year, 401(k) savers pay a percentage of their account balance toward administrative and investment-management fees, which are usually included in the calculation of fund expense ratios. As an individual's account balance grows, so do the fees they pay.

When a retirement saver is just starting out, they usually pay less than $100 in fees a year since their balance is low, according to FutureAdvisor. But when the account balance reaches $50,000, annual fees more than triple to about an average of $355. And by the time a person is ready to retire, the fees can add up to several thousand dollars a year.

And some employees may face additional costs, including trading fees and operating fees to help the company pay for the plan.

In addition to all of these fees are the earnings savers could have realized had they not been paying so much.

Related: Find out how much 401(k) fees are costing you

"While [fees are] a small percentage of your balance, it is a huge chunk of your expected growth," said FutureAdvisor co-founder Bo Lu.

An ordinary two-earner household will lose a whopping $154,794 to fees and lost returns over a 40-year career, according to a study released last year by Demos, a New York City-based think tank.

The highest fees are typically at small companies of 1,000 employees or less, where human resources teams have less power to negotiate with financial firms that offer 401(k)s.

More:
Your employer may cost you $100K in retirement

Walter Updegrave has written more than 1,000 Ask the Expert columns during his 26 years at Money magazine.

NEW YORK (Money Magazine)

I haven't said much about my own finances in the more than 1,000 Ask the Expert columns I've written over the past 13 years. Everyone's situation is different, so I wouldn't want people to assume they should follow a particular strategy or invest in a certain way just because "The Expert" has done so.

But since I'll be leaving MONEY at the end of this month, I thought it would be appropriate to share the overall approach I've taken to retirement planning during my 26 years at MONEY in the hope that readers might apply it not in every particular, but in a general way to their own planning.

I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty details. My wife would have my head if I started divulging account balances and such. Rather, I'll break down my retirement-planning efforts into two broad categories, specifically: What I've Done Reasonably Well and What I Could Have Done Better.

What I've done reasonably well

The single most effective thing I've done is save on a regular basis.

Whether my zeal for saving reflects an innate impulse, a reaction to my family's precarious financial situation as I was growing up, a rational decision to stash away money for the future or a combination of these, I can't say. But I can say that for whatever reason I've always tried to live below my means and contribute the max (or as close as I could get to it) to tax-advantaged retirement plans.

For example, as a freelance writer prior to joining MONEY, I opened and funded a Keogh account and then a SEP-IRA, both of which are retirement savings plans for the self-employed.

Once I became a MONEY staffer, I made it a point to take advantage of virtually every opportunity my employer offered to save, including the company 401(k) plan, which I funded to the max pretty much every year.

Read more:
Our expert (finally) reveals his personal retirement strategy

3/26/2013 4:15 PM ET

By David Ning, U.S. News & World Report

Your retirement could last 30 or even 40 years. Keep these potential costs in mind before you blow your entire nest egg.

Preparing for retirement is talked about so often before retirement and so little after it that you would think the last day of the daily grind is the endgame. In reality, day one of retirement is just the beginning of another adventure.

You've worked hard all your life, and now it's time to kick back, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. But retirement can last for 20, 30 or even 40 years. Before you live it up early in retirement, make sure you thoroughly understand the implications of and plan for these events that can sting your retirement nest egg years down the road:

Extended long-term care could be needed. For most people, long-term care costs hit suddenly and unexpectedly. Some people end up needing temporary aid, while others will need care for a prolonged period of time.

Your parents may require assistance. Advances in medicine are allowing many people to live a longer life, which is wonderful because you might be able to spend more quality time with your parents. But unless they've taken great care with their finances, there may come a time when their nest egg is depleted. You can help them early by assisting with their financial plan, but you should also make a plan for other ways to support them.

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7 surprise retirement expenses

SAN DIEGO, March 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- LPL Financial LLC the nation's largest independent broker-dealer, a leading RIA custodian, institutional service provider and a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (LPLA) today announced the launch of the Retirement Partners Group (RPG), an exclusive network of highly experienced LPL Financial-affiliated advisors who focus primarily on advising retirement plans for small to large companies. Only a small percentage of LPL Financial advisors are qualified for membership in this elite group.

RPG was conceived and launched by LPL Financial Retirement Partners, the retirement plan-focused division of LPL Financial. Membership in RPG identifies advisors who have demonstrated significant achievement within the retirement plan arena and will provide them and their clients with resources and strategies for the ever more complex field of retirement plans.

RPG members will benefit from a comprehensive branding and marketing effort to differentiate them from the majority of financial advisors. The program will convey a unifying, prestigious national identity while allowing RPG advisors to continue to enjoy the distinction of their association with LPL Financial. Membership in RPG will also provide networking access to other top LPL Financial retirement plan advisors, enabling group members to share expertise and referrals and to strengthen their industry relationships.

Bill Chetney, Executive Vice President of LPL Financial Retirement Partners, said, "Through its considerable investments in this arena, LPL Financial has demonstrated a firm commitment to be a leader in the growing and increasingly important retirement plan segment of the independent financial advisory industry. The establishment of the Retirement Partners Group will help broaden familiarity with LPL Financial as a major participant in this industry and as the home of many of its most accomplished practitioners.

"The Retirement Partners Group sets a lofty standard for retirement advisory expertise and service excellence. We believe it will be an inspiration for all our advisors, both within the retirement plan sector and for all LPL Financial advisors in general," he said.

Kathleen A. Kelly, Managing Partner of Compass Financial Partners, LLC, of Greensboro, NC, said, "I am thrilled to be a member of the Retirement Partners Group and with the marketplace recognition such membership will bring. LPL Financial has done a tremendous job of providing my firm with excellent resources and support, and I anticipate that the Retirement Partners Group will take this support to an exciting new level."

To gain entry into RPG, among their qualifications financial advisors must be recognized leaders in the retirement plan industry, with at least 10 years of experience and hold approved industry professional designations. In total, the inaugural class of RPG's 87 members currently represents approximately 4,000 total plans with nearly $40 billion in plan assets.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA), is the nation's largest independent broker-dealer (based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2012), a top RIA custodian, and a leading independent consultant to retirement plans. LPL Financial offers proprietary technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to over 13,300 financial advisors and approximately 700 financial institutions. In addition, LPL Financial supports over 4,500 financial advisors licensed with insurance companies by providing customized clearing, advisory platforms and technology solutions. LPL Financial and its affiliates have approximately 2,900 employees with primary offices in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego. For more information, please visit http://www.lpl.com.

Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial. A Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC. RPG is a network associated with LPL Financial.

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