Ann L. Combs, assistant secretary of labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, said a limitation on company stock in 401(k) plans — as some members of Congress have proposed in the wake of Enron Corp.’s collapse — might not make sense.
"Philosophically, individuals need to have information and need to have flexibility to invest retirement accounts in ways that make sense to them,” she said in a teleconference today.
"There are administrative problems,” she said, to such limitations, including what happens when the stock in a participant’s account exceeds 10% of total assets. She wondered if the participant would be forced to sell at a market price he or she doesn’t like.
The presidential task force is still working on its recommendations, Ms. Combs said.
