DCIIA announced two significant senior hires to support its organizational growth: Peg Knox, joining as Chief Operating Officer with a background as global retirement plans manager at Bechtel Global Corporation, and Warren Cormier, joining as inaugural Executive Director of the newly launched DCIIA Retirement Research Center, bringing over 25 years of financial services research experience and co-founding credentials from the Behavioral Finance Forum.

Results from DCIIA's fourth biennial plan sponsor survey show that over 60% of surveyed plans have implemented auto enrollment and half have implemented auto escalation, with adoption rates notably higher among larger plans. The release highlights declining opt-out rates, rising default contribution rates, and growing recognition among smaller plan sponsors of the retirement security benefits that auto features deliver.

Auto Features Continue to Grow in Popularity

DCIIA has leveraged member expertise to prepare a comprehensive overview that represents input from our diverse membership base -- asset managers, consultants, recordkeepers, and more.

Drawing on EBRI's national retirement savings database, DCIIA released "Design Matters: The Influence of Plan Design on Retirement Outcomes," a fact-based assessment of how plan design choices affect retirement readiness among American workers. Key findings highlight the significant positive impact of automatic enrollment and escalation features, the value of limiting asset leakage through loans and hardship withdrawals, and the particular vulnerability of older workers who did not benefit from these features earlier in their careers.

Despite people’s reticence to get advice, 42% believe their need for financial help has increased over the past few years. Recent Empower research found that most workers with a retirement plan are concerned about macroeconomic factors and how they affect their daily lives and pocketbook. DCIIA has been working on research geared to understanding 401(k) plan contributions to the retirement readiness of American workers since 2010. This paper draws on EBRI’s Retirement Security Projection Model® and explores the current state of the impact of 401(k) plans and other retirement savings plans on overall retirement preparedness in a post-Pension Protection Act (PPA) DC environment.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a working definition of financial wellness, survey the nascent body of research surrounding these programs, and highlight some demographic groups where financial wellness programs may be most likely to add significant value.

This slide-deck publication is intended to provide a better understanding of the various investment vehicles that are commonly used within DC plans, their benefits and drawbacks, and considerations for deciding which structure to use.