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Archives for: August 2007
The Tri-State 401(k) Plan Sponsor Survey performed by Cowden Associates and Cowden Advisors had made a few appearences in the press. Follow the links to read the full articles:
About one-third of 401(k) plan sponsors-advisers change investment options for their employees every two to five years or even less often &emdash; inaction experts called "unacceptable," a new survey found.
The Cowden Associates Inc. survey of 105 Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia employers found that 30.5 percent of all plans rarely change their option...
Continue reading at the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
A recent survey of 100 area companies by the Downtown benefits consulting firm Cowden Associates Inc. found that 73 percent of employers are using internal investment committees to make decisions about what investment options to offer as part of the 401(k) plan rather than...
Cowden Associates, Inc., the region’s leading independent actuarial and employee benefit consulting firm, today presented results from its first Tri-State 401(k) Plan Sponsor Survey. Results identify areas of 401(k) plan sponsorship and participation in need of improvement as the plans emerge as America’s primary retirement vehicle.
The survey provides a baseline for measuring the effectiveness of the Pension Protection Act, which was passed to make participation in 401(k) plans easier.
America’s workforce is getting older, or rather more people over the age of 55 are continuing to work full-time, year-round jobs according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s August 2007 Notes. "Those ages 55 or older in the labor force increased from about 38 percent in 1993 to 45 percent in 2006. For those ages 65–69, the percentage increased from about 18 percent in 1985 to 29 percent in 2006." EBRI speculates that this is due to the rising cost of health care in the individual market. The report also anticipates that the number will continue to rise as employers phase out retiree health insurance and defined benefit pensions are replaced with defined contribution retirement plans. The full report can be downloaded at the EBRI website (pdf).
This trend is neither unexpected or alarming, but it presents both opportunity and challenge to employers: with many older employees needing the income and/or benefits associated with employment, employers lacking a defined benefit retirement and retiree medical plans will find it more difficult to encourage early retirement to reduce labor costs; it will make experienced talent easier to attract and retain; but it’s corollary might prove true – employers may find it challenging to retain only highly-productive older employees.