PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2018 - 42

2018 DC SURVEY: PLAN BENCHMARKING
disagreed; in the large and mega plan
market segments, less than 1%-virtually
no one-disagreed.
In other words, plan sponsors overwhelmingly
believe their organizations
have some responsibility for employee
financial wellness. It is interesting to note
these findings, when the industry has
yet to settle on a consensus definition of
financial wellness and many plan sponsors
say they offer no financial wellness
education to their participants.
In a similarly structured question,
we asked plan sponsors to indicate their
level of agreement with the following
statement: " Most of our employees
will reach their retirement goals by age
65. " Again, respondents have typically
remained neutral, with about two-thirds
neither agreeing nor disagreeing and
just 15% to 17% taking a definitive position
either way. This year saw the level
of agreement move up to 22%, with just
13% disagreeing.
So why, in just a year, have plan
sponsors suddenly begun to feel such a
responsibility for employee financial wellness?
Have plan fiduciaries become more
paternalistic, or has the industry done
an amazing job of peddling financial
wellness programs? And why are these
sponsors more confident their employees
are reaching their retirement goals? Is it
because equity markets have been kind to
many defined contribution plan balances,
therefore lifting sentiments overall? Or
are the financial wellness programs really
working? Will these feelings change if
this longstanding bull market reverses,
as many financial professionals say is
inevitable? It's hard to pinpoint an answer
at this time, but we intend to keep trying
to find out. -Quinn Keeler
Methodology
The data that follow, and above, summarize adoption and use of
select plan features and policies, from the 2018 PLANSPONSOR
Defined Contribution (DC) Survey. The survey was conducted
online from August through October and gathered roughly 4,000
responses from DC plans of all types and sizes. One-third (33%) of
responses were from plans with under $5 million in plan assets,
and about one-seventh (15%) from plans having over $200 million
42 PLANSPONSOR.com October-November 2018
in assets. Survey results are meant to supplement existing plan
governance processes; the insight summarized here does not
represent advice related to any aspect of plan design-please discuss
results with a trusted retirement plan expert prior to taking any
action. Additional data is available and can be segmented by plan
size, industry, geography, etc. Please email brian.okeefe@strategic-i
.com for additional information and pricing.
Plan Demographics
Retirement Plan Offerings
88.2%
19.5%
10.2%
401(k)
403(b)
9.8%
457
Profit sharing
Percentage of Responses, by Asset Range
37.6%
32.6%
14.0%
<$5mm
Is a Safe Harbor Plan
68.0%
55.1%
53.4%
46.3%
41.1%
All
<$5mm
$5mm - $50mm
>$50mm - $200mm
>$200mm
$5mm - $50mm
>$50mm - $200mm
15.8%
>$200mm
Nonqualified
6.9% 8.0%
Any other

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PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2018

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