Watch your wallet -- and your 401k

For anyone with a 401(k) plan, stock market performance may be overshadowed by other worries: fraud and theft, Smart Money reports.

In the last three months, the Labor Department has launched 191 investigations into 401(k) fraud and theft, and secured 20 indictments – a whopping 43% more than the department has secured annually, on average, since 1995. 

In tough times, employers are more likely to raid their employees’ retirement funds, observers say, whether for personal gain, or to stretch to cover business expenses. This is especially true at small, private companies, where 401(k) plans are often run by a single person, like the company’s president or accounts manager.

Here are the Labor Department's top warning signs that something might be amiss with your 401k.

1. Your 401(k) or individual account statement is consistently late or comes at irregular intervals

2. Your account balance does not appear to be accurate

3. Your employer failed to transmit your contribution to the plan on a timely basis

4. A significant drop in account balance that cannot be explained by normal market ups and downs

5. 401(k) or individual account statement shows your contribution from your paycheck was not made

6. Investments listed on your statement are not what you authorized

7. Former employees are having trouble getting their benefits paid on time or in the correct amounts

8. Unusual transactions, such as a loan to the employer, a corporate officer or one of the plan trustees

9. Frequent and unexplained changes in investment managers or consultants

10. Your employer has recently experienced severe financial difficulty