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Survey Finds Gaps in Plan Review Focus

A new survey suggests that plan sponsors are interested in more frequent plan reviews – but whether workers are saving enough is way down the focus list.

More than half (57%) of plan sponsors surveyed said they want advisors to help them review their retirement plans semiannually or more often, something that only 44% report currently takes place, according to the 2016 MassMutual Retirement Plan Review Study. The survey does note that sponsors who rely on advisors typically review their retirement plans more often than sponsors who do not use an advisor.

The survey did find other differences in emphasis in plan review between situations where plan sponsors work with advisors versus those who do not. Perhaps not surprisingly, those with an advisor are more inclined to focus on satisfaction with their plan provider (79% versus 71% without), investment performance (76% versus just 59% without), and the effectiveness of education and advice (50% versus 31% without). Plan reviews among those using an advisor also showed gaps in their focus on participation rate (45% among those with an advisor versus 34% without), and the time and effort to administer plans (43% among advisor plans, and just 28% among those without).

The gaps were smaller on issues like fees (71% among those with advisor, versus 73% without), and – as noted above – whether employees are saving enough was the lowest item on the focus list: 27% among those with advisor versus 25% without.

The study polled 565 employers that sponsor retirement plans, including 449 that worked with an advisor and 116 that did not, with retirement plan recordkeeping assets ranging from less than $1 million to as much as $75 million. In addition, the research included two focus groups with plan advisors. The research was conducted in 2015 by Greenwald & Associates.

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