Participants must make the decisions about the investments within their account
The Plan Fiduciary decides if the Plan will offer the opportunity for a Participant or Beneficiary to direct the investments within their account. The Participant must decide whether to exercise that privilege. He cannot be forced to direct the assets within his account.
Most Plans will specify that the account balances of participants and beneficiaries who fail to make investment decisions will be invested in a "default" option.
The Department of Labor has specifically stated that even with the disclosure of the Default option, a participant or beneficiary who fails to give instructions for the investment of their account has not made an affirmative election to have their account balance invested within the Default Option. Thus the Plan Fiduciary remains liable for the investment of all assets within the Default Option as if it were a Trustee-Directed portfolio.