Fidelity: Retirement Plans Have Increased Focus on Recruiting, Retaining Workers

Although plan sponsors remain focused on achieving employee retirement readiness, 25% of sponsors reported that attracting and retaining top employees was a top goal for their retirement plan, a notable increase from 18% in 2021, according to a Fidelity Investments study.

Fidelity’s 2023 Plan Sponsor Attitudes Survey found that the top plan sponsor retirement plan goals included providing adequate retirement savings so participants can successfully replace income from their working years (36%) and ensuring plan participants save at a specific rate throughout their working years until retirement (26%).

For plan sponsors’ top plan design changes made in the past two years, three areas tied, each getting 26% of responses:

• Increasing the matching contribution amount;
• Increasing to the automatic enrollment deferral rate; and
• Beginning to offer an income replacement fund.

Fidelity Investments’ institutional insights, focusing on retirement plan evolution and participant engagement came from data points within the 2023 Plan Sponsor Attitudes Survey. Fidelity periodically releases slices of research and data, examining plan sponsors priorities and insights.

In this year’s survey, plan sponsors “reported that they were highly satisfied with their retirement plans meeting their goals,” according to the 2023 Plan Sponsor Attitudes Survey highlight.

General satisfaction with retirement plans meeting their goals remained at a multi-year high of 74% in 2023—76% for plans that use a retirement plan adviser, as compared with 65% for plans without an adviser—a far cry from the 59% recorded in the inaugural survey back in 2008.

“As the economy, fiduciary environment, and available investment options continue to become more complex, plan sponsors and advisors need to work together to help more participants become retirement ready,” the Fidelity report stated.

Fidelity’s Plan Sponsor Attitudes study has examined plan sponsors’ priorities and detailed insights since 2008. It is based on interviews with more than 13,000 sponsors.