The Plan Sponsor Council of America has released its 2015 403(b) Plan Survey of 478 organizations. The survey contains 124 tables of data on topics such as:
Automatic Enrollment
Compliance
Hardship Withdrawals
Investments
Loans
Organization Contributions
Participation Rates
Roth Features
Vesting Schedules
Select Key Findings
According to survey information provided by PSCA, of non-profit organizations that sponsor 403(b) retirement plans, 96.6 percent offer an employer contribution -- up from 82.7 percent in 2013.
"The large jump in plans offering employer contributions is one of the most noteworthy findings in this year's survey," said Hattie Greenan, PSCA's director of research and communications. "Non-profits recognize their role in helping employees save, and the nearly universal adoption of employer contributions is proof of that commitment."
Average account values among 403(b) plan participants grew to $62,513 in 2014, compared to $54,600 in 2013.
Participants contributed an average of 6 percent of their annual pay to their plan, up from 5.8 percent in 2013.
Nearly a quarter of 403(b) plan sponsors match employee contributions dollar for dollar on the first 5 percent or 6 percent deferred.
Just 16.2 percent of 403(b) plans use automatic enrollment, up slightly from last year's 16 percent.
Of those plans with automatic enrollment, 20.3 percent set the default at 5 percent or greater, which is up from 16.9 percent in 2013.
Other findings from the survey include:
The availability of Roth contributions has more than doubled in the last five years with 25.2 percent of 403(b) plans currently permitting the after-tax contributions.
More common at large organizations: half of plans with 1,000 or more participants offer Roth while only 10.9 percent of organizations with fewer than 50 participants offer it; 10.8 percent of participants made Roth contributions when permitted
The most popular services provided to participants via their mobile devices include balance inquiries (12.7 percent), investment changes (9.6 percent) and plan inquiries (9.3 percent).
Nearly half (46.7 percent) of organizations use an independent retirement plan advisor separate from their service provider. The most common services provided include investments (73.6 percent), plan design (64.4 percent), participant education (60.3 percent) and provider selection (52.3 percent).
The 2015 403(b) Plan Survey can be ordered from PSCA at www.psca.org/2015_403b_report.
