Just over one in 10 401(k) plan sponsors (11%) plan to
replace their recordkeeper over the next 12 months, on par with the 11% who had
the same strategy in 2014, according to Cogent Reports.
The primary reasons why they plan on making a recordkeeping
change are plan fees and investment options. However, among large and mega
plans, sponsors are also concerned about the level and quality of services
provided to the plan and its participants. Cogent estimates that the number of
sponsors that will look into replacing their recordkeepers at more than 66,000.
For help in making the switch, small plan sponsors rely on
advisers, their own research and requests for proposals (RFPs) from
recordkeepers. Large sponsors, on the other hand, often turn to consultants.
“Once the gears of change are in motion, our data show that
the factors driving the selection process vary significantly by plan size,”
says Linda York, vice president at Cogent Reports. “Among micro plans, sponsors
are looking for a good value and a partner that is easy to do business with,
whereas strong recordkeeping, fiduciary support and fee transparency are
important considerations at the other end of the spectrum.”
The top 10 firms that the sponsors said they are most likely
to consider as new recordkeepers are:
Fidelity Investments
Charles Schwab
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Vanguard
Wells Fargo
Merrill Lynch/Merrill Edge
ADP Retirement Serivces
Prudential Retirement
New York Life
American Funds
Cogent Reports’ findings are based on a survey of 1,416 plan
sponsors conducted between March 20 and April 20, 2015. The sponsors were
selected from Standard & Poor’s Money Market Directories and ALM’s Judy
Diamond Associates databases.
Two
out of three Americans (66%) expect to be stressed about money in retirement
based on how they are currently saving, according to a new survey released by
Bank of America and Merrill Edge.
The
survey of more than 1,000 Americans with investable assets of $50,000 to
$250,000 finds non-retired Generation Xers (74%) and Millennials (67%) are the
most likely to predict financial stress in retirement based on how they’re
saving right now, while 59% of current retirees say they are not stressed about
finances because of how they saved. Additionally, 73% of retirees who have
saved believe they will have enough money to last through retirement, compared
to 57% of non-retired respondents.
The
majority (75%) of non-retirees are also planning to rely on their own savings
and investments for financial help during their golden years. Nearly half (49%)
plan to work in retirement to get financial help during this time, and 28% plan
to rely on help from the government for the same reason. In comparison, only 20%
of retired respondents plan to work in their golden years to receive financial
assistance, while 41% say they currently rely on the government for financial
help in their retirement.
“Even
though current retirees report they are not as anxious about money, younger
Americans can learn from their example—that preparation pays off,” says Aron
Levine, head of Bank of America Preferred Banking and Merrill Edge.
NEXT: Learning from the example of current
retirees.
The
biannual survey found that most non-retired respondents agree that, in their
ideal retirement, they will not worry about money (77%) and will be stress-free
(70%). Respondents who have yet to reach retirement are taking actions to get
there like today’s retirees, but could do more to emulate strategies that
retired Americans employed to ensure that their golden years were less
worrisome.
Today,
the most popular actions that non-retired Americans are taking to live a
stress-free retirement are funding retirement accounts (57%) and paying off
debt (54%). Contributing to a retirement account (63%) and paying off debt (68%)
were also some of the most common measures that retirees took to reduce strain
in retirement before reaching that stage.
However,
while more than four in 10 retirees (42%) preemptively invested as much as they
could outside a retirement account to be stress-free when they did retire,
only 24% of non-retired survey respondents are doing this with the same goal in
mind. Similarly, less than one-quarter (24%) of those who have yet to reach
retirement are working with a financial adviser to reduce retirement anxiety,
while 38% of retirees said they worked with an adviser to achieve that same
goal before retiring.
Respondents
are most likely to feel that stress would be placed on their finances by
unexpected health care costs (65%), followed by lack of Social Security funds
(38%) and taking a loan from a 401(k) account (25%). Generationally, more Seniors
(77%) and Baby Boomers (66%) agree that unexpected health care costs would put
stress on their finances, in comparison to 55% of Gen Xers and half of Millennials.
NEXT: Millennials’ view of retirement.
More
than four in 10 (43%) Millennials say they are counting on assistance from
loved ones if financial help is needed in retirement, which is significantly
higher than the 9% of all other respondents combined. The reason for the large
disparity may come from the fact that 43% of Millennials say that they feel
behind their peers in either financial stability, saving for the future or
their income.
According
to the survey, Millennials also have a different vision of how they plan to
spend their retirement: two-thirds (66%) say their ideal retirement includes
traveling often, and more than half (54%) say the same about living near loved
ones. In comparison, fewer older respondents (Gen X, Boomers and Seniors) say
their ideal retirement includes traveling often (62%) and living near loved
ones (46%).
The
survey also reveals that Millennials are more tech-savvy when it comes to
retirement planning than Gen Xers, Baby Boomers or Seniors. More than
one-quarter (27%) of Millennials say they use websites and apps to manage funds
in an attempt to have a more stress-free retirement, compared to 16% of Gen
Xers, 11% of Baby Boomers and 5% of Seniors.
NEXT: Embarrassment can be a motivator.
According
to the survey, while the overwhelming majority (85%) of non-retired Americans
are investing for retirement, nearly one-third (29%) of all respondents would
still be embarrassed if their close friends or family knew intimate details of
their finances, specifically their retirement savings, checking account
balance, credit score, total wedding cost or monthly discretionary spending.
Along similar lines, nearly four in 10 (37%) feel they lag behind their peers
in terms of financial stability, saving for the future or current income.
However,
those shortfalls could also be a catalyst for better financial planning. Nearly
one-third (32%) of those who are not retired report that they have been
motivated by financial stress, financial embarrassment or the feeling that they
are behind their peers to make positive financial decisions.
Today,
respondents are also just as likely to prioritize saving more for the future
(61%) as living comfortably today (61%). In last year’s Spring 2014 Merrill
Edge Report, respondents were more likely to prioritize living comfortably
today (63%) than saving more for the future (48%).
The Spring 2015
Merrill Edge report may be downloaded here.