Health Care Employers Embracing 403(b) Enhancements

The percentage of health care plan sponsors that said they use an adviser jumped from 79% in 2011 to 85% in 2012. According to plan sponsors, the top responsibilities of their advisers are “ongoing investment monitoring” (74%), “investment selection” (70%) and “development of investments policy statement” (54%). Only 42% said their adviser’s responsibilities included “act as the plan fiduciary.”  

Other findings from the survey include:   

• Defined benefit plans continue to be offered by 42% of plan sponsors; but many said their plans are frozen to either new employees (51%) or all employees (49%); 
• The number of health care organizations imposing a minimum age requirement for plan entry has increased over the past 10 years from 64% in 2003 to 75% in 2012.  
• Health care plan sponsors are more likely to impose a service requirement for plan entry as compared to ten years ago—53% said they did so in 2003, 65% in 2012. However, the service requirements are becoming less stringent; only 18% allowed entry at less than one year in 2003, but today, fully 55% allow entry to employees with less than one year of service. 

Rebecca Moore
editors@plansponsor.com