Sponsors See Many Employees Delaying Retirement

According to the results of the Fourth Plan Sponsor Attitudes Survey from Fidelity Investments, retirement plan sponsors have concerns about their employees’ retirement readiness, as well as their own fiduciary responsibilities.

The survey found:

• Nearly two-thirds (66%) of plan sponsors reported that “some, quite a few or all employees” are delaying retirement because they are unprepared;
• More than half (57%) of plan sponsors say they do not believe their participants are saving enough for retirement; and
• Plan sponsors are not confident they fully understand their fiduciary responsibilities, with 42% believing they need help in this area.

In addition, plan sponsors felt as if they may not only be creating a greater reliance on retirement plan advisers but also increasing their expectations of them. In terms of expectations for adviser services, the survey findings show:

• While 84% of plan sponsors use an adviser and satisfaction is increasing, a little more than one-third (38%) of plan sponsors are unsatisfied with such services, and 10% are actively looking to switch advisers; and
• Plan sponsors expect a wide range of investment and retirement expertise from their advisers and desire a “more knowledgeable adviser”—i.e., one providing seven key areas of expertise in which he would score above 30%.

The Fidelity survey polled 937 sponsors of plans ranging in size from 25 to 10,000 participants. The plans used a wide variety of recordkeepers, including Fidelity and other firms.