The U.S. retirement system is in a period of transition, the vast majority of companies that sponsor 401(k) plans agree. In response to a recent survey by亚博赞助欧冠那in partnership with Prudential, 82% of plan sponsors say that the retirement system is either evolving and will likely adjust to changing needs (49 percent) or that they believe it is in grave danger of failing (33 percent). There are variations — companies with small plans are more likely to be worried than those with large plans, for example — but most respondents share some key concerns, including regulation and demographic change. Advisers and consultants are even more likely to see the system as being in crisis, with nearly four of ten agreeing.
无论是否通过该系统席卷的变化都构成了危机或只有一段时间的困难而合理的变化，“这是一个挑战的新道路，我们都必须适应它，”信托投资的校长和高级顾问都是适应它的顾问。
Fortunately, the cost of building a great plan may be coming down — in some respects, at least. Plan sponsors and their recordkeepers have become much better at mining data on participants and their 401(k) accounts, says Gardner, making it easier and less expensive to analyze participants' contribution history and proximity to a target retirement income and then advise them how best to reach it, as well as to design a glide path for target date funds.
Automatic enrollment and auto-escalation, along with the growing adoption of target date funds, have made it easier, too, for plan participants — many of them — to place themselves on a surer path to retirement security. “Auto-everything!” says Bob Hunkeler, vice president of investments at International Paper, underscoring the powerful effect of these features that help turn many workers' habitual inertia to good advantage.
退休制度的一些挑战faces have been well understood for years; plan sponsors' concerns today center on the direct or indirect effect these problems are likely to have on employer-sponsored plans. More than half of survey respondents (54 percent) say the lengthening of retirement due to longer life spans will have a very high impact on their defined contribution plans; a similar number (53 percent) reported that regulatory changes that could alter Social Security, Medicare and other benefit programs would have a high impact as well. Changes to Social Security affecting the value of benefits under the program would intensify the pressure on employers to help their workers provide for their retirement, while longer lives raise the hurdle for plan participants to achieve a comfortable target retirement income level.
如果参与者保存并大幅保存，则符合任何这些挑战和实现舒适的退休更容易。很多很多人不是这一时期的令人不安的现实之一，这是在美国退休的那段进化。计划赞助商的问题也是一个问题，其中57％的人表示，员工尚未对其计划产生很高的影响。储蓄低的一些原因是行为，例如倾向于今天提供满足的趋势，即使在投资的领域，也不愿意考虑未来。但退休储蓄只是对员工的各种各样的竞争需求之一，包括儿童和老龄化亲属的教育，住房，健康覆盖和护理。“这绝对是这种情况，特别是在我们每小时的劳动力，很多人都不能再节省了，”建筑材料制造商USG公司员工福利主任汤姆·福利说，雇主通过其利益有所帮助程序，它面临着自己的艰难选择。
The rising cost of health care provides an example. Over half (56 percent) of plan sponsors worry that their employees are underestimating the impact of health care costs, leading them to misjudge the income they will need in retirement. Even the cost of preretirement health care could affect their retirement savings, since there may be a tradeoff between the employer’s contribution to the health plan and its 401(k) match. “Rising health care costs mean that employer contributions to retirement plans have to compete with the health plan,” says Paul Denu, defined contribution practice leader at USI Consulting Group. “More money will also go into the health plan because that's the benefit employees value the most.”
退休储蓄的实现只是对员工资源的竞争需求之一 - “也许健康储蓄账户是将钱排名第一的更好的地方？”suggests Mark Kopp, manager, U.S. defined contribution plans at Ford Motor Co. — is one reason many plan sponsors are refocusing their retirement education efforts on a financial wellness approach that aims to inform participants about the financial risks they face and to provide tools to manage those risks. But offering such tailored advice and training, not to mention obtaining lower fees and responding to closer regulatory scrutiny of 401(k) plans — which a third (33 percent) of plan sponsors expect to be one of the top three forces impacting their plans in the next three years — is easier for larger companies with larger plans and more resources.
“资源引进顾问和third-party advisers,” says Gardner. “Larger employers have more internal resources allocated to managing and overseeing the plan, more people and sometimes whole departments,” whereas smaller plans may have only one or two individuals juggling multiple responsibilities. The danger is that a two-tier universe may be developing, in which many smaller employers never have the resources or bandwidth to structure plans that adequately address participants' needs.
Yet, automatic features and the declining cost of data analysis are helping even smaller employers to better understand their employees’ situation and needs and nudge them in the direction of greater saving.
“近年来，计划改善了他们的个人资料，”Lori Lucas说，Callan Associates的贡献练习领导者。“他们简化了他们的资金阵容，更多地利用自动注册和义心并获得了收费。”出于这些原因，虽然许多计划赞助商关注整个美国退休系统的未来，但它们在很大程度上对自己的401（k）产品持乐观态度;在我们的调查中，近三分之二（61％）评为其计划的整体健康状况。
This suggests that, in spite of rapid change, competition for both employer and employee assets and greater regulatory scrutiny, the 401(k) model is still flexible enough that plan sponsors can continue developing it in directions that serve participants better. As they do so, however, the critical factor in any plan sponsor’s success will likely remain the same. “Employees won’t invest their way to a successful retirement,” Denu says. “They’ll save their way to it.” Getting them to start saving, and save some more, is the top challenge for plan sponsors in this time of transition—and will continue to be in years to come.
关于调查
本研究由机构投资者与审慎合作，确定需要在整个退休计划流程亚博赞助欧冠以及计划发起人，顾问和顾问如何克服它们的投资风险和行为挑战。
To support this research, a survey was distributed to Institutional Investor's audience of plan sponsors as well as advisors and consultants between January and February 2016. We received 511 completed survey responses from the plan sponsor audience and 295 completed survey responses from advisors and consultants.
自动注册：一种自动贡献安排，可以用作退休计划中的功能，以允许雇主在满足资格要求时自动注册公司计划中的员工
自动升级：A plan design option that allows a plan sponsor to increase participant deferrals annually by a set increment.
风险：投资涉及风险。一些投资比其他投资更有风险。投资回报和主要价值将会波动，售出的股票可能比原始成本更多或低，并且可以赔钱。过去的性能不保证未来的结果。资产配置和多元化不保证利润或防止市场下降损失。
The target date is the approximate date when investors plan to retire and may begin withdrawing their money. The asset allocation of the target date funds will become more conservative as the target date approaches by lessening the equity exposure and increasing the exposure in fixed income type investments. The principal value of an investment in a target date fund is not guaranteed at any time, including the target date. There is no guarantee that the fund will provide adequate retirement income. A target date fund should not be selected based solely on age or retirement date. Participants should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of any fund before investing. Funds are not guaranteed investments, and the stated asset allocation may be subject to change. It is possible to lose money by investing in securities, including losses near and following retirement.
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