Plan Sponsors Get Company Match Back on Track

401k employer match

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Plan sponsors who stopped matching employees’ contributions in their defined contribution plans are starting to reinstate them, according to research from Principal Financial Group. A look at first-quarter data from the financial group shows that plan sponsors and participants

Related: 401k Balances Hit Record Levels Again: Fidelity

Plan amendments are low—less than 2% in the first quarter—but much of that activity was to bring back company matches. Forty percent of plan sponsors who have submitted amendments to their plan have done so to reinstate the 401k employer match, Principal found. Furthermore, sponsors were three times as likely to reinstate a match as to remove it.

However, businesses are feeling the recovery differently, and some—notably large, institutional businesses—have been slower to bring back the match. Principal found that 55% of midsized businesses have reinstated their company match, compared to 30% of small businesses and 25% of institutional firms. Midsized businesses were also more likely to submit amendments to remove their 401k employer match in the first quarter: 6.5%, compared to 4.3% of large firms and 1% of smaller businesses.

Related: 10 Big 401k Plans Suspending Matching Contributions in 2020

Participant behavior

Although participants are making fewer calls regarding their retirement plans—volume is down 4%, compared to the first quarter of 2020—they have complex requests, Principal found. Calls about distributions are also up 4%, while calls about withdrawals have fallen 9%.

However, participants who are seeking loans and withdrawals need larger amounts. Loan requests fell 25% in the first quarter, but participants asked for an average 12% more. Meanwhile, a 30% decrease in hardship/disaster withdrawal requests came with a 20% average increase in amount requested.

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