2023
DC Plan Benchmarking Survey

Employer Match

Encouraging participant savings in defined contribution plans, employer matches continue to dominate the other contribution options, with 62% of DC plan employers providing them. Notably, eligibility for matches has shifted, as 64% of plans (vs. last year’s 80%) now grant participants match eligibility upon plan contribution eligibility. Immediate vesting is offered by 30% of plans, while 14% enforce vesting periods of five years or more. Additionally, 42% of plans have adopted a graded vesting schedule, allowing matched contributions to vest gradually over a designated time frame, with a maximum duration of six years. Thirty-one percent offer cliff vesting, whereby employees don’t receive the match until the vesting date. As a whole, these responses reflect varied approaches in incentivizing and structuring DC plan participation.