PLANSPONSOR - June/July 2020 - 23

403(b) Plans
T
he 403(b) market had crossed $1 trillion in assets at year-end last year, a notable accomplishment
if not for the $6 trillion shadow cast by 401(k) plans. However, the functional
difference between these two plan types has started to blur in recent years as 403(b) sponsors,
spurred by regulatory changes, have more fully embraced their role as fiduciaries.
For example, many 403(b) plans used the recent remedial amendment period to
improve their plan document(s), which helped simplify oversight of the multi-vendor
arrangements that have been common in the industry. However, over the past decade, the
number of 403(b) plans that follow requirements set forth by the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA) has remained unchanged, hovering around 25%.
Collectively, 403(b) plans cover over 15 million workers in specialized industries
such as education, hospitals, churches or religious organizations, and other nonprofit
entities. The differing needs of these industries and the varying size of average
participant account balances-e.g., those in higher education are twice those in K - 12
schools-have resulted in a range of service models catering to each sub-segment.
Additionally, both local and national tax support is common for public worker plans.
Recordkeeping for 403(b) plan assets is more heavily concentrated with a few
providers than it is for 401(k) plans. The Top 5 403(b) providers account for 83% of all
403(b) assets; the Top 5 401(k) providers account for 63% of all 401(k) assets. -BOK
Growth in Total 403(b) Plan Assets ($mm)
$1,041,836
$804,933
$883,631
$1,121,614
$994,741
Top 10, by Total 403(b) Assets ($mm)
1 TIAA
2 Fidelity Investments
4 AIG Retirement Services
5 Voya Financial
$452,343
$248,517
3 Transamerica Retirement Solutions $55,376
$53,824
$49,028
$39,209
$31,222
$26,542
$22,121
$18,795
6 Lincoln Financial Group
7 The Vanguard Group, Inc.
8 Equitable
9 Empower Retirement
10 Newport
Top 10, by 403(b) ERISA Plans
1 TIAA
2 Lincoln Financial Group
3 Newport
4 AIG Retirement Services
5 Principal Financial Group
6 Voya Financial
7 Fidelity Investments
8 Nationwide
2016
2017
2018
Total 403(b) Assets, Plans and Participants

Total assets
$1,028,071
Plan Size
<$10mm
$10mm - $50mm
>$50mm - $200mm
>$200mm

Total plans
130,781
Assets ($mm)*
$93,990
$117,236
$156,089
$660,756

Total participants
15,486,942
Plans*
122,190
6,543
1,703
345
Participants*
3,024,457
2,609,847
2,452,698
7,399,940
2019
2020
9 MassMutual
10 Empower Retirement
Top 10, by 403(b) Non-ERISA Plans
1 Voya Financial
2 AIG Retirement Services
3 Equitable
4 Newport
5 PCS Retirement, LLC
6 Fidelity Investments
7 Nationwide
8 TIAA
9 Lincoln Financial Group
10 PlanMember Services Corporation†
*Not all providers report complete data; therefore, data segmented by plan size will not equal the corresponding overall total.
†
Profiled online as part of the 2020 PLANSPONSOR 403(b) and 457 Plan Market Survey, to be published this fall.
PLANSPONSOR.COM June - July 2020 23
14,199
5,902
2,475
2,173
1,844
1,504
1,454
1,284
1,176
1,082
18,797
15,543
15,519
10,065
7,881
7,337
6,588
5,820
5,758
3,173
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