Likely changes include automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans and increased government scrutiny, retirement experts said.

Were already at the tipping point where defined contribution plans like 401(k)s are about equal to or already overtaking traditional plans, said John Bigley, director of the corporate retirement division at Amper Financial Services, a Bridgewater-based division of CPA firm Amper, Politziner & Mattia LLP.

Participation [in 401(k) plans] is likely to increase, since in early 2010 federal lawmakers are likely to pass a requirement to automatically enroll employees in corporate retirement plans, said Bigley, who spoke at a retirement plan workshop at The College of New Jersey in late October.

Under the new regulations, employees would have to make a specific request to opt out of the retirement plan.

Under the rapidly disappearing defined benefit pension, a company generally guaranteed the amount of money that workers would get when they retired, which placed all the investment risk on the business.

A 401(k) plan, in contrast, commits employees to contribute to their own retirement fund; dramatically reducing a companys costs.

Even as companies and individuals scramble to cut costs, theres a lot of interest in retirement plans, according to Amper Politziner partner Dan Gibson. Its one of the last big tax breaks available, he said, referring to the deduction against income that can be taken for contributions to 401(k)s and other plans that meet Internal Revenue Service qualifications.

Based on the attendance at the Amper event, retirement planning gets the attention of both small and large companies.

Berlitz International Inc. retirement plan specialist Irma Voegtlin said she came because the Princeton-based language instruction firm wants to see how we can increase employee participation in our [401(k)] retirement plan.

Unlike some companies that have suspended the match during the wrenching economy, Berlitz has maintained its program, she said.

Companies need to stay current on pension plan activity, especially since federal authorities are stepping up scrutiny of the plans.

The recession has helped drive federal tax revenues down by about 16.8 percent through September, while federal spending is up 18 percent for the period, Bigley said. The government has to raise money, and one of the ways it does so is through increased enforcement of retirement plan audits.

Since 2007, insufficient recordkeeping drove Department of Labor auditors to flunk 70 percent of the retirement plans they audited, Bigley said. The wayward companies have been socked with a total of $1.5 billion in fines, he said.

There are many fiduciary and other issues that can trip up a company when it comes to pension plans, Bigley said. Companies should keep in contact with their financial, tax and other advisers to minimize the chance of making an error that could be costly.

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