When Montgomery County's top prosecutor, John McCarthy, took the oath of office last year, his pension from more than two decades as a county employee was frozen, and he was directed to join a retirement plan for elected officials.

Retirement plan expenses can whittle away at the money in your long-term savings accounts. But how do you tell what your 401(k) fees really are?

Plaintiff says orders to sell were not followed, leading to large losses. Business groups fear a wave of similar suits. James LaRue says he lost $150,000 when his instructions to his employer for where to invest money in his retirement plan were ignored.