To create a truly useful database that provides unbiased, actionable findings for public-sector retirement plans, buy-in and participation was needed from the plan sponsors who stand to benefit from the information. After all, the tool would be of no value without a critical mass of users.
Well, go ahead and check that box.
The Public Retirement Research Lab announced Aug. 19 that more than 100 public plan sponsors have agreed to share plan- and participant-level data in response to its campaign to build the Public Retirement Research Database, the first-ever comprehensive participant-level database specific to public sector defined contribution plans.
The Public Retirement Research Lab (PRRL) collects and analyzes public sector defined contribution retirement plan data to provide unbiased, actionable findings to better inform public plan administration, participant engagement, innovation, and legislation. The PRRL is a retirement industry-sponsored collaborative effort of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA).
To date, 105 public plan sponsors from across the U.S. have committed to share data from 194 retirement plans. Of those, 60% (117 plans) are 457b plans, 27% (52 plans) are 401a plans, and 13% (25 plans) are 401k, 403b, HSA/HRA or IRA plans. The sponsors are cities (49), counties (21), utilities/schools (18) and states (17).
“We’re thrilled by the robust response we’ve received from plan sponsors to so quickly reach this level of participation,” said Matt Petersen, NAGDCA Executive Director. “We’re especially grateful to NAGDCA members for their enthusiastic engagement and to PRRL Founding Partners—Capital Group, Invesco, Nationwide—and Supporting Partners—ICMA-RC, Prudential, and Voya—for their contribution to this data collection effort.”
Participation in the Public Retirement Research Database (PRRD) is ongoing. To be included, plan sponsors only need to complete a simple form authorizing their recordkeeper to transfer their plan’s data to the PRRD.
“The Employee Benefit Research Institute has been conducting research on 401k participant data—such as the size of the private-sector retirement deficit—for decades,” said Lori Lucas, EBRI President and CEO. “We are excited about the opportunity to extend this research in conjunction with NAGDCA through the PRRL to the public sector in a way that will lead to better and more informed decision-making.”
Plan sponsors that share their data with the PRRL receive:
- free access to the PRRL Benchmarking Tool enabling independent assessments and comparisons according to select variables
- a “You vs. the Universe” report comparing their retirement plans with aggregated data from other plans in the database
- access to exclusive public sector-focused research from EBRI, NAGDCA, and PRRL Founding and Supporting Partners
PRRL says intelligence garnered from its analysis of government DC plan data will also yield invaluable insights for a variety of public sector retirement industry stakeholders. Among these are public sector retirement plan providers, which will gain the means to craft retirement plans and programs tailored specifically to the needs of public sector employees—vs. assumptions based on analysis of private-sector 401k data.
Additionally, organizations, such as NAGDCA, will have access to information essential to legislative efforts supporting improvement of public sector defined contribution plans.
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
