2019
DC Survey: Plan Benchmarking

Loans

The percentage of plans offering loans continues to hover around 80%, though 2019 saw the highest reported value (83%) for plan loans in the past six years. Instead of eliminating loans, sponsors often put up guardrails designed to limit the potential negative outcomes that can arise. For example, the majority of plans (57%) allow participants to have only one outstanding loan at a time, while over one-third of plans (35%) now allow separated participants to pay off loans after they leave, a feature that may reduce the risk of default if the loan cannot be repaid at separation.