Retirement Plan Balances
Workers at law firms might be the most set for retirement, as that industry had the highest average 401(k) participant account balance—$186,176—according to the 2014 PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution (DC) Survey. This is followed by utilities, $129,703; accounting firms, $120,216; Fortune 1000 companies, $111,550; and research and development (R&D) companies, $110,071.
The 401(k) participation rate is highest among labor unions, with 89.1% of labor union workers participating in their retirement plan, followed by credit unions (87.9%), pharmaceuticals (86.3%), utilities (86.3%) and accounting firms (86.2%).
Labor unions also had the highest average participant deferral rate (9.4%), trailed by research and development companies (8.3%), pharmaceuticals (8.1%), aerospace and defense companies (7.9%) and colleges and universities (7.8%).
403(b) plans, however, outpace other types of retirement plans when it comes to financial education, the most common offerings being investing strategies (57.8%) and saving and budgeting (43.5%), followed by managing credit and debt (19.5%), retiree health care costs (19.3%), Social Security options (19.3%), college saving (15.8%), long-term care (9.0%) and buying a home (7.9%).
403(b) plans trail other types of retirement plans, though, when it comes to automatic enrollment and escalation. Thirty-six percent of 403(b) plans automatically enroll participants, compared with 40.0% of other types of plans, and 17.3% of 403(b) plans have automatic escalation, compared with 25.5% of other retirement plans.
When looking at some of the negative statistics, such as
outstanding loans and hardship withdrawals, Fortune 1000 companies rate high in
both. Among Fortune 1000 companies, an average 21.3% of participants have
loans. Loans are next most common among utilities (20.4%), consumer manufacturing
plants (19.8%) and chemicals/mining operations (19.7%).
Top 5 Industries in Key Retirement Plan Areas
| Participation Rate | |
| Labor Unions | 89.10% |
| Credit Unions | 87.90% |
| Pharmaceuticals | 86.30% |
| Utilities | 86.30% |
| Accounting | 86.20% |
| Average Account Balance | |
| Law Firms | $186,176 |
| Utilities | $129,703 |
| Accounting | $120,216 |
| Fortune 1000 | $111,550 |
| Research/Dev | $110,071 |
| Average Deferral Rate | |
| Labor Unions | 9.40% |
| R&D | 8.30% |
| Pharmaceuticals | 8.10% |
| Aerospace/Defense | 7.90% |
| Higher Education | 7.80% |
| Participants With Loans | |
| Fortune 1000 | 21.30% |
| Utilities | 20.40% |
| Manufacturing Consumer | 19.80% |
| Chemicals/Mining | 19.70% |
| Auto Manufacturing | 18.30% |
| Hardship Withdrawals | |
| Fortune 1000 | 2.60% |
| Labor Unions | 2.50% |
| Health Care Nonprofit | 2.10% |
| Aerospace/Defense | 2.00% |
| Utilities | 1.90% |
Use of Auto Escalation
Average Account Balance
| 401(k) Plans | $84,166 |
| 403(b) Plans | $54,840 |
Participation Rate
| 401(k) Plans | 77.20% |
| 403(b) Plans | 71.90% |
Source: 2014 PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution (DC) Survey