Six Key Benchmarking Trends Spanning Three Years of Survey Data

Plan Sponsor Council of America’s (PSCA) recent survey highlights key trends from data gathered from 2020 to 2022. 

As organizations continually re-evaluate and benchmark their own retirement plans, take note of these trends as reported by PSCA that employers are using to attract, retain and educate employees for a more secure and enjoyable retirement.[1]

"Automatic" Features Remain Popular

63.9% of plans used an automatic enrollment feature, up from 58.8% in 2021 and 62.0% in 2020.

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Employer Contributions Dip 

After reaching a record high, average employer contributions slipped to 4.8% in 2022.

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Roth Rising (Still) 

89.1% of plans in 2022 offered Roth 401(k) options, continuing the three-year upward trend. 

Participation Slips

At its lowest in three years, overall participation sits at 85.6%.

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Focus on Financial Wellness

Employers continued to identify financial literacy as their number one goal with retirement plan participants.

Investment Options Steady

The number of fund investment options held steady at 21 for the third year.

97.8% offered the same fund options for both participant and company contributions.

The PSCA Annual Survey offers extensive insights into how organizations can create a superior retirement benefits package. To join the conversation and put this knowledge to work for your employees, contact your PNC representative today.

Accessible Version of Charts

2022 Highlights

2020

2021

2022

“Automatic” Features Remain Popular:

 

 

 

Plans With Automatic Escalation

78.7%

78.4%

77.7%

Plans Automatically Re-Enroll Non-Participants Annually

5.4%

13.4%

10.1%

Employer Contributions Dip:

 

 

 

Average Employer Contribution

4.9%

5.6%

4.8%

Roth Rising (Still):

 

 

 

Plans Permitting Participant Contributions into After-Tax Roth Accounts

86.3%

87.8%

89.1%

Participation Slips:

 

 

 

Eligible Employees That Made Contributions to the  Plan

88.5%

89.2%

85.6%

Focus on Financial Wellness:

 

 

 

Purpose for Providing Plan Education: Increases Employees’ Financial Literacy

77.1%

77.4%

83.1%