A dramatic overhaul of the 401(k) regime by lawmakers is unlikely in the near future, but there’s plenty of room for improvement to the employer-sponsored retirement system, experts say.

Employers who sponsor 401(k) plans ought to do more to help participants realistically prepare for retirement, and special attention is needed to close gaps between minority employees and white employees, [according to several speakers at the recent West Coast Defined Contribution Conference]. But calls to take steps such as replacing 401(k)s with a guaranteed public retirement system have not caught fire in Washington, said keynote speaker James Delaplane, partner at law firm Davis & Harman.

“I don’t see radical reforms in the cards,” Delaplane told conference attendees.

. . . [Calls for reform] have not won over the bulk of Democratic lawmakers or President Barack Obama, Delaplane said . The answers on issues such as 401(k) fees are coming from regulators like the U.S. Department of Labor, not from Congress, he said. “That probably means less disruption to your plans,” Delaplane said.

Still, many within the industry aren’t satisfied with the 401(k) system.

A pressing concern is low retirement savings by African-American and Hispanic employees, said Mellody Hobson, president of investment firm Ariel Investments. Hobson, who provides financial advice for ABC’s "Good Morning America," reiterated the findings of a study released earlier this year showing that just 66 percent of African-Americans participate in 401(k) plans, compared with 77 percent of whites.

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