1st quarter 2016
DC Plan “Ease of Use” Drives Higher Savings Rates,
Employee Engagement
Today’s workforce relies primarily on defined contribution plans to
help them save for retirement. However, industry consensus is that
there’s no panacea for plan engagement. That’s why it’s vital that
workplace retirement plans are accessible and their features as easy
to use as possible.
Plan sponsors are taking notice, and this emphasis on “ease of use” is
paying off, according to Deloitte’s 15th “Annual Defined Contribution
Benchmarking Survey.” Employee contribution rates and account
balances are up thanks to features like auto-enrollment, step-up
contributions and smartphone/tablet apps, as well as less-stringent
service requirements for plan entry and immediate matching
contributions. Combined with a stable, growing economy and steady
job market, these enhancements have fueled positive developments
in DC plan engagement.
Effective plans, engaged employees
Conducted with the International Foundation of Employee Benefit
Plans (IFEBP) and the International Society of Certified Employee
Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS), Deloitte’s 2015 survey found that average
employee participation rates remained high at 75%, in line with the
77% reported in 2013-14.
A majority of plan sponsors, 60%, ranked
“high level of participation” as the top indicator of plan effectiveness,
compared to 51% in 2013-14.
Participants’ saving habits reflected improved plan engagement, too.
The average account balance grew nearly 4% to $99,011 in 2015
from $95,227 in 2013-14. Contribution rates rose, with the median
actual deferral percentage for non-highly compensated employees
increasing to 5.9% from 5.2%.
Employer match still powerful
Employees gave varied reasons for plan participation, and the survey
sought to identify the most prevalent. In 2015, the personal desire to
save for retirement was No.
1 at 40% (up slightly from 39%), beating
last year’s leader—receiving the maximum company match—at 35%
(down from 43%).
Nonetheless, sponsors recognize the match is still powerful. According
to the survey, 94% of plan sponsors offer a matching or profit-sharing
contribution, with 6% increasing the match. This is consistent with
the last three years’ findings.
Notably, for the first time since 2009,
100% of plan sponsors with discretionary matching reported making
matching contributions.
Employers use a variety of strategies
However, the results show there’s no universal solution to foster
plan engagement. In response, plan sponsors are implementing
strategies focused on plan mechanics and offerings:
• Seventy percent responded that auto-enrollment had a positive
impact on deferrals (up from 56% in 2013-14), participation
(88% vs. 79%), and participant awareness (64% vs.
57%).
• Sixty-two percent of plans offered step-up contributions,
a significant increase from 46% in 2013-14.
• Sixty-six percent indicated no service requirements for plan
entry compared to 62% in the last survey.
• Seventy-one percent offered an immediate match (up from
62% in 2013-14), and 43% offered full vesting in the match
(up from 32%).
Deloitte’s 2015 Benchmarking Survey is available online at
http://tinyurl.com/DeloitteDCBenchmarking2015.
. Older Participants’ Distribution Decisions Have Implications
for DC Plan Design
With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day, and millions poised
to retire, plan sponsors, providers and lawmakers are paying close
attention to the distribution decisions retirement-age employees
make when accessing their defined contribution plan assets.
In light of an imminent mass exodus from the workforce, it can be
instructive to examine participant withdrawal behaviors over time.
That is exactly what Vanguard did in its September 2015 update
to its December 2013 analysis of participant distribution decisions
among retirement-age DC plan participants. The report, “Retirement
Distribution Decisions Among DC Participants—An Update,”
considered distribution behaviors through year-end 2014 of 249,600
DC plan participants age 60 and older who terminated employment
in calendar years 2004-2013.
Observing these behaviors has implications for plan design, especially
target date funds1 and retirement income programs. For example,
should target date funds take a “to” or “through” retirement
approach? When it comes to target date fund glide paths, the
former suggests a more conservative strategy that assumes assets
are used right away at retirement; the latter, an approach that
accounts for the preservation of assets several years post-retirement.
Please keep in mind that different investment managers use different
investment strategies. Participants should review holdings as they
approach the target date to make sure the investments remain
consistent with their objectives.
Majority of assets rolled over or stay in plan
Vanguard’s findings seem to support a “through” strategy.
According to the study, more than two-thirds of retirement-age
participants acted to preserve assets, and 9 in 10 plan dollars are
preserved for retirement.
Specifically, 2% remained in the plan with
no installments, 7% remained in the plan with installment payouts,
and 57% completed an IRA rollover. In asset terms, 4% remained
in the plan with no installment payments, 12% remained in the plan
with installment payments, and 72% rolled over to an IRA.
Moreover, the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 did not trigger an
uptick in cash-out rates among participants terminating during those
years, further supporting a “through” retirement approach for target
date funds design, according to Vanguard.
a lump-sum distribution of their entire account balance. For
example, a terminated participant with a $100,000 plan balance
who wishes to make a one-time withdrawal of $100 must
withdraw the entire amount—i.e., by rolling over the entire
$100,000 to an IRA and withdrawing $100, or by executing an IRA
rollover of $99,900 and taking a $100 cash distribution.
Vanguard
suggests that plan sponsors might boost in-plan distributions by
eliminating rules prohibiting partial ad hoc distributions.
Research cited in the report shows retirees seldom withdraw
IRA assets until age 70, when required minimum distribution
rules apply.
Additionally, these findings emphasize the importance of more
flexible in-plan retirement income strategies. With an emphasis on
lump-sum distributions, participants will need help transforming
their savings into a consistent income stream. Based on
Vanguard’s analysis, these decisions will be made mostly in the
IRA marketplace, not within employer-sponsored qualified plans.
However, retirement-age participants’ distribution behaviors may
change over time as more providers adopt in-plan payout options.
Vanguard’s complete analysis is available online at
http://tinyurl.com/VanguardDistributionUpdate2015.
Pension Plan Limitations for 2016
The report’s authors also observed that most DC plan participants
age 60 and older leave their employer’s plan within five years of
terminating their employment, with the majority rolling assets over
to an individual retirement arrangement.
This termination behavior
seems to be motivated by plan rules governing partial distributions.
Highly Compensated Employee Threshold
$120,000
Most plans disallow partial withdrawal; should
that change?
2
401(k) Maximum Elective Deferral
$18,000*
* $24,000 for those age 50 or older, if plan permits)
(
Annual Compensation Limit
$265,000
It’s no wonder. A full 87% of Vanguard DC plans require
participants who desire a partial ad hoc distribution to take
Defined Contribution Maximum Annual Addition
$53,000
1 he principal value of a target date fund is not guaranteed at any time,
T
including at the target date.
. Plan Sponsors Ask...
Q: Younger employees are participating in our
retirement plan, and that’s good. But their contribution
rates are lower than we’d like, and we’re concerned
they may not be savvy enough to make informed
investment decisions. How do we help them save more
and invest with confidence?
A:
Your observations are spot-on. Although they’re just starting
their careers, and paying down credit card and student debt is a top
financial priority, 67% of workers in their 20s are already saving for
retirement, according to a recent report from Transamerica Center
for Retirement Studies.
However, savings rates for 20-somethings are quite low.
The median
contribution rate is 7% of annual pay, and many experts agree it
should be around 10% for this age group.
Their investing knowledge is rudimentary, too. Thirty-seven percent
say asset allocation—a basic, yet vital retirement investing principle—
is a mystery. According to Transamerica, 27% “aren’t sure” how
their contributions are invested, and 24% are in low-risk, low-return
investments that may be too conservative for their time horizon.
So what’s a plan sponsor to do? Implementing step-up contributions
is one way to help raise savings levels over time and attain that
recommended 10% deferral rate faster than participants might on
their own.
Offering a qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) also makes
it easier for employees to make smarter investing choices.
Target date
funds are an excellent way to pursue long-term investing success.1
And a strong education and communication program, including
face-to-face meetings with a financial advisor, informative materials
that explain basic investing concepts and detail the plan’s investment
options, and calculators to assist them in determining their retirement
savings needs, can help all employees invest wisely and maximize the
benefits of years of good savings habits.
Learn more about 20-somethings’ retirement attitudes at
http://tinyurl.com/Transamericatwentysomethings.
Q: Our plan is on the smaller side, and we want
to boost participation and deferrals. How can we
accomplish this?
A:
You may find that emphasizing plan features and education
will help. Recent research from Guardian Retirement Solutions
indicates that participants in smaller plans don’t have access to
the same features and investment options available to those in
larger plans.
There are three primary ways you can make the plan
more enticing:
• Diversify the investment offerings. Too many funds may
leave participants overwhelmed. And don’t include more than
one or two of each investment type.
• Focus on income.
Fifty-four percent of respondents said
they pay a “great deal” of attention to their account balance,
vs. 29% who pay a “great deal” of attention to how much
income that balance will create in retirement. Including income
projections on participant statements can help, but it’s even
more impactful to remind participants to focus on income
during open enrollment or face-to-face meetings, for example.
• Education is key.
Ongoing education and communication
programs, including enrollment meetings, online tools,
calculators and more, can help increase participation, deferral
rates and engagement. A little education can prompt
employees to make better choices in managing their DC plan
accounts, boost overall job satisfaction, and help them achieve
more successful outcomes in retirement.
View more findings from the Guardian survey at
http://tinyurl.com/GuardianSmallPlanSurvey.
Q: We’ve noticed millennials tend to save for
retirement, but they don’t seem to be doing anything
else to prepare for it. How do we motivate them to
actively plan for their post-work years?
A:
It’s true.
A recent study on the retirement outlook of
millennials (ages 20-37) discovered that while 68% said they’re
saving for retirement, only 29% said they are actively planning
for it. Sixty percent of millennials actually believe it’s more difficult
to plan for retirement than to maintain a diet, according to
research from the Insured Retirement Institute and the Center
for Generational Kinetics.
Still, millennials need to do more if they aspire to a financially
secure retirement. Partnering with a financial advisor can help by
assisting millennials in setting realistic expectations, determining
goals, and creating plans to achieve them.
In fact, 62% of
millennials said they’d like an advisor to walk them through every
step of the retirement planning process. For planning-averse
millennials, working with an advisor is key to making sure they
receive the necessary guidance to properly prepare for retirement.
Review the full results at http://tinyurl.com/
MillennialRetirementOutlook.
3
. People who participate in a retirement plan are more confident
about their ability to retire with enough money to live
comfortably when compared to people without a plan. The
most recent figures from the Employee Benefit Research Institute
(EBRI), released in its “2015 Retirement Confidence Survey,”
show that 22% of workers are now very confident they will have
enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement
years. Twenty-eight percent of those who have money (or whose
spouse has money) in a DC plan, defined benefit plan, or an
IRA say they are very confident about living comfortably
in retirement. In contrast, just 12% of those without a plan
say the same.
You can view EBRI’s Retirement Confidence Survey at
http://www.ebri.org/surveys/rcs/.
Web Resources for Plan Sponsors
Internal Revenue Service, Employee Plans
www.irs.gov/ep
Department of Labor,
Employee Benefits Security Administration
www.dol.gov/ebsa
401(k) Help Center
www.401khelpcenter.com
PLANSPONSOR Magazine
www.plansponsor.com
BenefitsLink
www.benefitslink.com
Plan Sponsor Council of America
www.psca.org
Employee Benefits Institute of America, Inc.
www.ebia.com
Employee Benefit Research Institute
www.ebri.org
PLAN SPONSOR’S QUARTERLY CALENDAR
Who Is Confident
About Retirement?
APRIL
• If a plan audit is required in connection with the
Form 5500, make arrangements with an independent
accountant/auditor for the audit to be completed before
the Form 5500 due date (calendar-year plans).
• Audit first quarter payroll and plan deposit dates to
ensure compliance with the Department of Labor’s rules
regarding timely deposit of participant contributions and
loan repayments.
• Verify that employees who became eligible for the plan
between January 1 and March 31 received and returned
an enrollment form.
Follow up for forms that were
not returned.
MAY
• Monitor the status of the completion of Form 5500,
and, if required, a plan audit (calendar-year plans).
• Issue a reminder memo or email to all employees to
encourage them to review and update, if necessary, their
beneficiary designations for all benefit plans by which
they are covered.
• Perform a thorough annual review of the plan’s
Summary Plan Description (SPD) and other enrollment
and plan materials to verify that all information is
accurate and current, and identify cases in which
revisions are necessary.
JUNE
• Begin planning an internal audit of participant loans
granted during the first six months of the year. Check
for delinquent payments and verify that repayment terms
and amounts borrowed do not violate legal limits.
• Confirm that Form 5500, and plan audit if required,
will be completed prior to the filing deadline or that
an extension of time to file will be necessary (calendaryear plans).
• Review plan operations to determine if any qualification
failures or operational violations occurred during the first
half of the calendar year. If a failure or violation is found,
consider using an Internal Revenue Service or Department
of Labor self-correction program to resolve it.
Consult your plan’s financial, legal or tax advisor regarding
these and other items that may apply to your plan.
This information is provided by Ameritas®, which is a marketing name for subsidiaries of
Ameritas Mutual Holding Company, including, but not limited to: Ameritas Life Insurance
Corp., 5900 O Street, Lincoln, NE 68510; Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.
of New York,
(licensed in New York) 1350 Broadway, Suite 2201, New York, NY 10018; and Ameritas
Investment Corp., member FINRA/SIPC. Each company is solely responsible for its own
financial condition and contractual obligations. For more information about Ameritas®,
visit ameritas.com.
Kmotion, Inc.
is not affiliated with Ameritas®.
Ameritas® and the bison design are registered service marks of Ameritas Life Insurance
Corp. Fulfilling life® is a registered service mark of affiliate Ameritas Holding Company.
©2015 Ameritas Mutual Holding Company
Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York
Retirement Plans Division
1350 Broadway, Suite 2201
New York, NY 10018
800-745-9995
ameritas.com
Kmotion, Inc., 412 Beavercreek Road, Suite 611, Oregon City, OR 97045; 877-306-5055; www.kmotion.com
© 2016 Kmotion, Inc.
This newsletter is a publication of Kmotion, Inc., whose role is solely that of publisher. The articles and opinions in this publication are for
general information only and are not intended to provide tax or legal advice or recommendations for any particular situation or type of retirement plan. Nothing in
this publication should be construed as legal or tax guidance; nor as the sole authority on any regulation, law, or ruling as it applies to a specific plan or situation.
Plan sponsors should always consult the plan’s legal counsel or tax advisor for advice regarding plan-specific issues.
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