WorldatWork Reports Findings of 401k and Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan Survey

Events and factors have affected employer-sponsored retirement plans, including additional scandals, economic instability and President Bush's 2003 retirement account proposals.

To get a feel for how these events have impacted retirement plan practices, WorldatWork.org surveyed a random sampling of it's U.S. members, and received the following findings based on the 609 responses received:

• In 2003, 91% of employers in the survey offer a 401k program to employees. Among this group, almost all (93%) provide some type of matching contribution to the employee's individual contribution. Similar figures were recorded in 2002.
• About three-quarters of all employers in the survey (74%) match employee contributions with dollars only; the remaining employers match with their own company stock only, or a combination of company stock and dollars.
• Only 14% of employers place any kind of limit on the amount of their own company stock (as a percentage) an employee can accumulate in a 401k account.
• Nearly two-thirds (63%) of companies reported their own company's stock constitutes less than 20% of their employees' aggregate 401k holdings. Only a very small percentage of companies (2%) have their own company stock constituting more than 80% percent of their employee's aggregated 401k plan money.
• In 2003, a year after innumerable corporate scandals and a bear run on Wall Street, a majority of respondents indicate "no change" to employee 401k participation rates (72%), employee contribution percentages (68%) and investment in their own company stock (68%).

Background

Of the 4,190 surveys sent in 2003, 609 responses were received – a 15% response rate, which is typical for WorldatWork member surveys. The demographics of the survey respondents closely matched those of all members, providing assurance that the survey responses are representative of the WorldatWork membership as a whole.

WorldatWork is the world's leading not-for-profit professional association dedicated to knowledge leadership in compensation, benefits and total rewards.

Rick Meigs, Publisher, 401khelpcenter.com