PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 22
RESEARCH | 2021 PLANSPONSOR DC PLAN BENCHMARKING SURVEY
of the
By studying
trends in DC
plan design
and usage,
sponsors can
benchmark
and improve
their own
plans
IT IS WELL WORTH plan sponsors taking time to benchmark their plan's design features-
in fact, doing so can help them achieve plan goals.
" It goes back to, what is the purpose of your plan? Why do you have a plan to begin with? "
says Managing Director Jim Lyday of Pensionmark in Nashville, Tennessee. " Most sponsors
will say, 'The main reason we have the plan is so our people can retire, and we want to help
them get there.' "
Knowing that, sponsors can look at benchmarking data on plan design features to get a
sense of industry best practices and understand what comparable employers do. " We always
ask, 'Does this feature add to [retirement readiness], or not? Is this feature getting more people
to be able to replace enough of their income in retirement?' " he says.
Reasons to Benchmark Plan Design
Decisions about plan design are not fiduciary responsibilities under the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA), explains David Levine, a principal and co-chair of the plan
sponsor practice at Groom Law Group, Chartered, in Washington, D.C. " So plan design does
not [legally] require benchmarking, " he says. " You don't have to have a retirement plan, and
you don't have to have certain design features in your plan. " Sponsors do not generally get
sued over plan-design features such as the employer match formula, he says. Decisions about
plan design fall into the legal category of " settlor " activities.
" There are two different buckets involved in setting up a retirement plan, " Levine says.
" Bucket No. 1 is settlor functions such as, 'Do we want a plan? Who do we want to be eligible to
participate? And how much do we want to contribute?' ERISA's fiduciary duties don't apply to
these decisions: They are a business call. The other bucket is about operating the plan: 'Who do
we want to choose as the vendor for our plan? What investments do we want to offer?' These are
fiduciary decisions, because you're running the plan solely in the best interests of participants. "
While benchmarking plan design features is not mandated, Levine says, it helps
employers make important decisions. " For competitive reasons and for long-term business
planning, it makes a ton of sense, " he says. " It's helpful to find out, what are your competitors
22 PLANSPONSOR.COM October - November 2021 Art by Georgie McAusland
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PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021
INSIGHTS
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
RULES & REGULATIONS
UPFRONT
To Attract and Retain
2021 DC Plan Benchmarking Survey
Investment Appraisal
The Evergreen Discussion
Retirement, by Auto-Pilot
FIDUCIARY FORUM A Useful Gauge
INSIDE ANGLE ESG for Fiduciaries
PLAN PROFILE Picture of Health
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Cover1
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Cover2
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 2
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - INSIGHTS
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - RULES & REGULATIONS
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 9
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 10
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 11
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - UPFRONT
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 14
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 16
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - To Attract and Retain
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 20
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 2021 DC Plan Benchmarking Survey
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 24
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 26
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 28
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Investment Appraisal
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 31
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 32
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 33
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - The Evergreen Discussion
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 35
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Retirement, by Auto-Pilot
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 37
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - FIDUCIARY FORUM A Useful Gauge
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - INSIDE ANGLE ESG for Fiduciaries
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - PLAN PROFILE Picture of Health
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Cover3
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Cover4
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