COLLECTED WISDOM™ on Studies and Research focused on 401k Plans
Summary: Australia's retirement income system is regarded by some as among the best in the world and is often pointed to as a model for 401k reforms. It has achieved high individual saving rates and broad coverage at reasonably low cost to the government, but the Australia system does have shortcomings. This white paper provides an overview of the system and recent reforms. The paper concludes that the recent reforms should strengthen Australia's system and provide lessons to other nations that increasingly depend on 401k-type individual accounts.
Source: Center for Retirement Research 
, April 2013
Summary: PIMCO's DC Practice has prepared the 2013 Defined Contribution Consulting Support and Trends Survey to help understand the breadth of views and specific consulting services available within the DC marketplace. The 2013 survey captures data, trends and opinions from 51 consulting firms across the U.S. which serve over 6,500 clients with aggregate DC assets in excess of $2.4 trillion.
Source: Center for Due Diligence , April 2013
Summary: The federal government provides generous tax subsidies for retirement saving in 401ks and IRAs. The subsidies are designed to increase household saving and retirement income security, important national goals. Given the nation's severe budgetary pressures, it is critical to know how effective these subsidies are in raising household saving and whether other approaches would be more cost-effective.
Source: Center for Retirement Research , March 2013
Summary: This paper investigates whether mutual fund families acting as trustees of 401k plans display favoritism toward their own funds. Using a hand-collected dataset on retirement investment options, we show that poorly-performing funds are less likely to be removed from and more likely to be added to a 401k menu if they are aliated with the plan trustee. We nd no evidence that plan participants undo this aliation bias through their investment choices.
Source: Indiana University , March 2013
Summary: Many people, especially women, face a serious risk of running out of money in retirement. This latest report looks at how many people are at risk, how great the risk is, and what can be done to minimize it.
Source: Society of Actuaries , January 2013
Summary: The answer should be simple: if you know what your objectives are, you can test whether you are on track to meet those objectives. However, while clear objectives may have been defined for individual fund managers, the reality is that most defined contribution plans do not have clear objectives.
Source: Mercer.com, January 2013
Summary: 401k savers continued to seek diversified portfolios in 2011, with 61 percent of 401k participants' assets invested in equity securities and 34 percent in fixed-income securities, on average, according to the annual update of a joint study released today by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Investment Company Institute.
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute , December 2012
Summary: Study confirms that a racial and ethnic gap in retirement savings account usage persists, continuing to put large groups of employees at increased financial risk for their retirement years. Findings also suggest two courses of action to address this gap head-on and immediately: implementing policies and practices to reduce the withdrawal of funds prior to retirement; and designing plans to magnify the positive impact of auto-enrollment on defined contribution plan use.
Source: Ariel Investments , November 2012
Summary: This report examines the level of participation by workers in public- and private-sector, employment-based pension or retirement plans. It begins with an overview of retirement-plan types and participation in these types of plans and describes the data used in this study, along with their relative strengths and weaknesses.
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute , November 2012
Summary: Nearly 80% of the more than 6,000 companies that participated in the 2012 Plansponsor Defined Contribution Survey doubt their employees will achieve retirement goals by age 65. A large number of company respondents indicate a decline in satisfaction with 401k providers.
Source: 401khelpcenter.com, November 2012
Summary: More than a third of Baby Boomers surveyed said they expect Social Security to be a "major source of income in retirement." Yet only one in four have confidence the system will have money to pay benefits throughout their retirement; nearly 40 percent were not at all confident, according to the latest MFS Investing Sentiment Survey.
Source: 401khelpcenter.com, November 2012
Summary: A new Pentegra Retirement Services survey revealed that nearly one-third (32%) of U.S. adults who would like to retire do not know if they will be able to retire or do not believe they will ever be able to retire. Only 19% -- nearly one in five adults -- said that they will be able to retire at age 65.
Source: 401khelpcenter.com, November 2012
Summary: In this report, AllianceBernstein uses their plan participant and plan sponsor surveys to better understand the obstacles and the practical possibilities for helping DC plans gain the flexibility to adapt well -- whatever the future may bring. The report shares some insights into what participants need, and what plan sponsors think will help them deliver successful DC plans.
Source: AllianceBernstein , October 2012
Summary: More people are working beyond the usual age for retirement; they are taking up part-time jobs, combining work with leisure, even creating second careers for themselves. This 36 page report looks at how employers, employees and governments are having to adapt to new realities, and setting out some recommendations for the way ahead.
Source: Aegon.com , October 2012
Summary: The Plan Sponsor Council of America's 55th Annual Survey of Profit Sharing and 401k Plans reports on the 2011 plan-year experience of 840 plans with 10.3 million participants and $753 billion in plan assets. The survey contains 156 tables of data on important topics. This article reviews the study highlights.
Source: Plan Sponsor Council of America, October 2012
Summary: Financial Finesse has announced the release of its second annual research report on the state of U.S. employee retirement preparedness. The report found that employees are increasing their focus on retirement planning, but employees are still behind where they need to be in order to retire comfortably at their desired retirement age.
Source: Financial Finesse, October 2012
Summary: This GAO report recommends that the DOL lead an effort to collect data on the employers that participate in MEPs. GAO also recommends that Labor and IRS formalize their coordination with regard to statutory interpretation efforts with respect to MEPs. Furthermore, Labor and IRS should jointly develop guidance on the establishment and operation of MEPs.
Source: SPARK Institute , October 2012
Summary: This study assesses the status of American families' accumulations in individual account retirement plans, both through the incidence of ownership and the average amounts accumulated. The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), the Federal Reserve Board's triennial survey of wealth, is the basis for this study.
Source: SPARK Institute , October 2012
Summary: Participants prefer more pro-active steps to increase their retirement readiness and provide them with more analysis, solutions and a better understanding of the tools and guidance the plan provider has to help them optimize the use of their retirement plan.
Source: 401khelpcenter.com, October 2012
Summary: According to the tenth annual survey of healthcare plan sponsors released today by Diversified and the American Hospital Association, a record number of healthcare organizations are offering defined contribution plans with enhancements that include automatic enrollment and automatic deferral escalation to accomplish their most important goal: to help employees accumulate income for retirement.
Source: 401khelpcenter.com, September 2012
Summary: Although fewer American families are participating in a retirement plan at work, more of those with a plan are in a 401k. At the same time, ownership of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) is falling, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).
Source: 401khelpcenter.com, September 2012
Summary: A nationwide poll, conducted by BlackRock, Inc. of 1,035 retired Americans and 1,002 American workers participating in DC retirement plans, has found that most workers are failing to save as much as they could for retirement -- risking the regret now felt by retirees who had made that same mistake.
Source: 401khelpcenter.com, September 2012
Summary: In advance of the 2012 benefits enrollment season, Guardian released a study that shows a strong relationship still exists between an employee's benefits enrollment experience and their perceived value of the benefits that their employer offers.
Source: 401khelpcenter.com, September 2012
Summary: Automatic features have become mainstays of many employer-sponsored retirement plans and represent a true paradigm shift in retirement plan design. Of primary interest to this study was to what extent communication strategies changed, or are likely to change, as a result of the shift to automatic features.
Source: Lincoln Financial Group , July 2012
Summary: To measure participant-directed changes in DC plans, ICI has been tracking participant activity through recordkeeper surveys since 2008. This report updates results from ICI's survey of a cross section of recordkeeping firms representing a broad range of DC plans and covering more than 24 million employer-based DC retirement plan participant accounts as of March 2012.
Source: Investment Company Institute , July 2012
Summary: Over the last decade, working women's access to and participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans has improved relative to men. From 1998 to 2009, women surpassed men in their likelihood of working for an employer that offered a pension plan. Still, for women approaching or in retirement, becoming divorced, widowed or unemployed had detrimental effects on their income security.
Source: Government Accountability Office, July 2012
Summary: Women age 65 and over consistently had less retirement income on average and had higher rates of poverty when compared to men despite the fact that the composition of their income did not vary greatly over time.
Source: Government Accountability Office, July 2012
Summary: How America Saves is a 94 page analysis of Vanguard's full-service recordkeeping plans. Along with looking at the overall retirement saving and investing behavior of Vanguard's more than three million participants, How America Saves this year includes supplemental reports on participant patterns in the DC retirement plans of 12 specific industries.
Source: Vanguard , June 2012
Summary: The Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies in collaboration with AEGON and Cicero Consulting conducted this study to contribute to a common understanding among eight European countries and the United States of what measures can be taken by individuals, employers and governments to create a new blueprint for modern retirement. This research outlines the emergence of possible future trends and opportunities regarding aging populations and global financial uncertainty.
Source: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies , June 2012.
Summary: This report presents the findings of Mohler, Nixon & Williams' 2012 Northern California 401k Plan Survey. The survey offers a regional perspective of 401k plans, and recent trends. The survey was conducted in March 2012, with over 100 Northern California plan sponsors and benefit plan managers participating. The respondents were asked about their current plan offerings and structure, and recent and expected changes.
Source: Mohler, Nixon & Williams (Free Registration May Be Required), May 2012.
Summary: The survey is conducted through an independent research firm and the data represents employees of different age groups and employers of various sizes. In addition to the findings on various retirement issues, the survey provides an in-depth segmentation and comparison analysis based on company size, gender and age groups.
Source: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, May 2012
Summary: This survey captures data, trends and opinions from 39 consulting firms across the U.S., which serve over 3,600 plan sponsors with aggregate DC assets of more than $1.8 trillion as of December 31, 2011. Given the ever-increasing dependence on DC plans as the primary source of retirement income, this survey aims to identify how the leaders in DC consulting are helping their clients design and deliver successful plans.
Source: PIMCO , April 2012
Summary: Mesirow Financial's Retirement Plan Advisory practice released this report. The results outline initiatives plan sponsors are considering to keep their plans competitive while fulfilling their fiduciary duties. The survey addresses retirement plan design, fiduciary oversight options, employee education and fee disclosure requirements, among other topics.
Source: Mesirow Financial , April 2012
Summary: In 2011, the oldest Boomers reached a new milestone -- turning age 65 -- an age that traditionally defined retirement. This study examines the attitudes and behaviors of this leading-edge Boomer segment as they transition into their next life stage. Respondents included those who agreed to be re-contacted from the 2009 study, so in many instances, direct comparisons of changes in circumstances, plans, and behavior are included in this report.
Source: MetLife , April 2012
Summary: Continued economic uncertainty has led all workers to dip into their retirement savings, but minorities have been the hardest hit, according to a new study from Ariel Education Initiative and Aon Hewitt. The Ariel/Aon Hewitt study, 401k Plans in Living Color II, examined the defined contribution plans of 60 large U.S. organizations, representing 2.4 million employees.
Source: Ariel Investments , April 2012
Summary: Americans' confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement is stagnant at historically low levels in the face of more immediate financial concerns about job uncertainty and debt, according to the 22nd annual Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), the longest-running annual survey of its kind in the nation.
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute , March 2012
Summary: The 68-page Deloitte 401k Benchmarking Survey is a snapshot into the priorities and associated actions of plan sponsors. It offers a broad view of the priorities, policies, features, objectives and expectations of the diverse population of respondents.
Source: Deloitte , February 2012.
Summary: This survey polled respondents about their views on DC retirement plan saving and their confidence in 401k and other DC plan accounts. Survey responses indicated that households value the discipline and investment opportunity that 401k plans represent and that households were largely opposed to changing the tax preferences or investment control in those accounts.
Source: Investment Company Institute , January 2011.
Summary: The retirement savings of American households took a big hit when the stock market crashed in 2008. Recently, however, a good portion of these losses has been reversed. This fact sheet follows trends in retirement account balances since the beginning of 2005.
Source: Urban Institute , January 2011.
Summary: This report is an update of EBRI and ICI's ongoing research into 401k plan participants' activity through year-end 2010. The report is divided into four sections: the first describes the EBRI/ICI 401k database; the second presents a snapshot of participant account balances at year-end 2010; the third looks at participants' asset allocations, including analysis of 401k participants' use of target date, or lifecycle, funds; and the fourth focuses on participants' 401k loan activity.
Source: Investment Company Institute , December 2011.
Summary: The annual Compensation, Retirement and Benefits Trends Survey conducted by Verisight and RSM McGladrey is designed to uncover key trends across the broad spectrum of retirement, benefits, and employee reward programs. More than 850 organizations participated in the survey. The majority of participants are mid-sized, private and not-for-profit companies.
Source: Verisight , December 2011.
Summary: The Investment Company Institute and Deloitte Consulting have prepared the second edition of the Defined Contribution/401k Fee Study that was first conducted and published in the 2009 study. Specifically, this report addresses and updates: The mechanics of defined contribution plan fee structures; Components of plan fees; and, Primary and secondary factors that impact fees ("fee drivers").
Source: Investment Company Institute , November 2011.
Summary: Whatever your current method(s) of assessment and evaluation, plan sponsors have long appreciated the reality that, while every program may have its own unique set of circumstances and constraints, there is value in being able to compare your retirement plan designs with a valid set of comparables, if only to ensure that your design remains competitive.
Source: Plansponsor.com, November 2011.
Summary: U.S. companies must act now to engage younger workers in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans if up-and-coming generations are to have a realistic chance of achieving a financially secure retirement, according to this new study from Northern Trust.
Source: Northern Trust , November 2011.
Summary: This paper examines the impact of participant choice in 403(b) plans. It looks at the extent to which school district employees want choices in their 403(b) plans and whether providing those choices is beneficial to them.
Source: ASPPA , October 2011.
Summary: Sponsors in all segments of the 403(b) market are looking to their providers as 403(b) partners and experts. Providers offering solutions to help ease plan administration and cost will have a competitive edge. Government regulation and more transparent fee reporting are driving both innovation and consolidation.
Source: 401khelpcenter.com, September 2011.
Summary: In this white paper, the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association examines the impact of leakage factors on workers' retirement income adequacy. They examine how loans, hardship withdrawals, distributions and cash outs impact potential outcomes. Contrary to many assumptions around leakage, the DCIIA research points to trends around cash outs and distributions to be the most harmful of the leakage points. Finally they provide recommendations on steps plan sponsors can take now to prevent retirement savings leakage.
Source: Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association , August 2011.
Summary: The 12th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey found that for the first time since the recession began, rising employer confidence is accompanied by an increase in enhancements to retirement benefits as well as reinstatement of benefits that had been suspended.
Source: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies , July 2011.
Summary: SHRM's 2011 Employee Benefits research report provides comprehensive information about the types of benefits U.S. employers offer to their employees. In 2011, 284 benefits were explored, covering the areas of health care and welfare benefits, preventive health and wellness benefits, retirement savings and planning benefits, financial and compensation benefits, leave benefits, family-friendly benefits, flexible working benefits, employee services benefits, housing and relocation benefits, and business travel benefits. The report also examines trends in employee benefit offerings over the last five years.
Source: Society for Human Resource Management, June 2011.
Summary: This 92 page report, now in its 10th edition, is widely used as a barometer of retirement planning trends. Along with a look at the overall patterns of Vanguard's three million-plus participants, How America Saves this year includes supplemental reports with analyses of participant behavior in the defined contribution retirement plans of eight specific industries.
Source: Vanguard , June 2011.
Summary: This survey -- conducted among 4,080 American workers -- found that for many Americans, the foundation of their retirement strategy is simply to not retire or to work considerably longer than the traditional retirement age of 65. Overall, American workers' confidence in their ability to achieve a financially secure retirement is low.
Source: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies , May 2011.
Summary: Savings leak out of the retirement system before participants retire further eroding retirement readiness. More than 1.8 million employees were examined across over 110 large defined contribution plans to explores the magnitude of the problem, the impact to participant savings and ideas to curb these behaviors.
Source: Aon Hewitt , May 2011.
Summary: Successfully using a 401k plan to prepare for retirement requires knowledge of investment opportunities, types of plans and their mix of investments, knowledge of risk, and awareness of the costs associated with maintaining a plan. Despite the need for knowledge, seven in ten are not aware that they pay fees to their 401k plan provider to maintain their account. When told of these fees, six in ten are not aware of the amount they pay in fees to maintain their account.
Source: AARP , April 2011.
Summary: Economists love menus, which can be used to help understand people's choices. For example, do we prefer more choices (larger menu) or fewer (shorter menu)? But the menu itself has to be pre-selected. This research by David Goldreich (Rotman School of Management) and Hanna Halaburda (Harvard Business School) focuses on the menu setter's decisions about what to include, and how large a menu to construct in the context of 401k plan choices.
Source: HBS Working Knowledge, April 2011.
Summary: Study examines retirement investors in private and public sector employer Defined Contribution plans, looking at recent account experience, loan and hardship withdrawal patterns and investor demographics.
Source: ING Institute for Retirement Research , March 2011.
Summary: This is a 24 page report on the results of Grant Thornton's 7th annual Retirement Plan Survey. Covers investments, employer/employee contributions, enhancing plan participation, maintaining compliance, 403(b) plans, and defined benefit plans.
Source: Grant Thornton LLP , March 2011.
Summary: This 40 page report find that instead of making fundamental adjustments to their spending and saving patterns in response to the decline in confidence, workers continue to change their expectations about how they will transition from work to retirement in what has been called an age of "the new normal."
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute , March 2011.
Summary: The average 401k retirement account balance rose 31.9 percent in 2009, according to a report released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Investment Company Institute analyzing a group of consistent participants. The rise in 2009 was in line with the 2003-2007 pattern of steady increase in account balances and in contrast to the 27.8 percent decline in 2008. The EBRI/ICI report, "401k Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Loan Activity in 2009," is based on the largest database of its kind.
Source: Investment Company Institute , November 2010.
Summary: Across all income groups, retirement income from employer-sponsored retirement plans is more prevalent among retirees today than in the mid-1970s, when sweeping new retirement plan regulations were enacted, according to a new study released by the Investment Company Institute.
Source: Investment Company Institute , November 2010.
Summary: This new study finds that auto-enrollment and auto-contribution escalation in 401k plans -- depending on how they're implemented and used -- can result in a big improvement in retirement savings, especially for low-income workers.
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute , October 2010.
Summary: This report is based on records for more than 3.2 million plan participants. It found that many participants in 2009 experienced higher account balances, traded minimally in response to market volatility, increasingly diversified their assets through automatic investment programs, and protected their retirement nest egg when they left their employer. Only a very small group of participants appeared to be adversely affected by the tough economy, leading to a modest decline in plan participation and savings rates and slight increases in loans and hardship withdrawals.
Source: Vanguard , August 2010.
Summary: PSCA conducted a snapshot survey of plan sponsors in March, 2010 to determine their views on retirement income products. This is an overview of the survey results.
Source: Profit Sharing/401k Council of America , April 2010.
Summary: U.S.-registered investment companies play a significant role in the U.S. economy and world financial markets. These funds managed more than $12 trillion in assets at the end of 2009 for nearly 90 million U.S. investors. This is a review of trends and activity in the investment company industry.
Source: Investment Company Institute , April 2010.
Summary: This paper explores why retirement plan participants tend to under save, misunderstand their investment options, and make poor allocation decisions. Based on studies in behavioral finance, it offers some potential solutions for structuring plan options to encourage participants rather than frustrate and confuse them.
Source: Arnerich Massena , April 2010.
Summary: The results of the 11th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey -- conducted among nearly 3,600 American workers -- found that workers who are offered 401k plans, or similar employee-funded arrangements, exhibit more proactive retirement savings behaviors, demonstrate higher levels of knowledge about retirement investing, and are more confident in their ability to retire comfortably.
Source: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies , April 2010.
Summary: This report presents the results of a telephone survey among Americans aged 45 to 80 conducted by Mathew Greenwald & Associates, Inc., and the Employee Benefit Research Institute on behalf of the Society of Actuaries. The purpose of the study was to evaluate Americans' awareness of potential financial risks in retirement, how this awareness impacts the management of their finances with respect to retirement, and how Americans are managing the process of leaving the workforce.
Source: Society of Actuaries , April 2010.
Summary: This study was conducted to gain a general assessment of the level of understanding of investments, fees and administrative practices related to retirement plans. The survey's major findings address: Fiduciary and investment challenges in 2009, Employer and employee economic challenges in 2009, Plan design features, Tax and ERISA compliance issues, and 403(b) plans.
Source: Grant Thornton LLP , April 2010.
Summary: The 44 page 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey finds that Americans' confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement, which had dropped sharply over the past two years, has stabilized now that the economic volatility of the recession has abated. The steep declines in other retirement confidence indicators also appear to be slowing. However, the retirement preparations reported by some workers are eroding, leaving them less prepared for retirement.
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute , March 2010.
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