Participants Quiet on Company Stock

February 27, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Most 401(k) participants with company stock in their plans haven't expressed concern about the investment to their employer, a new survey finds.

The survey, by consultant Spectrem Group, found that 27% of respondents got questions or comments from participants about the company stock – even with the Enron scandal in the news virtually every day.

Specifically:

  • 50% of participants who voiced company stock questions sought reassurance that putting retirement money into that kind of an investment was safe,
  • generally participants wanted to know the total amount of company stock in the plan and a current picture of their employer’s financial health,
  • participants also sought reassurance that their employer wouldn’t mimic the Enron situation – the company suffered a financial meltdown at a time when many of its workers held large blocks of its stock in their retirement plan, and
  • employees wanted to clarify plan rules about selling company stock shares to transfer the money into other plan investment options

The survey, Company Stock in 401(k) Plans: Current Practices and Plans for the Future, covered 100 large companies.

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