Escalent
Escalent
Cogent Syndicated

Retirement Planscape uncovers the most important trends in the plan sponsor market and benchmarks the leading DC plan providers and DC investment managers on key brand equity and experience metrics to help firms grow market share and strengthen plan sponsor loyalty despite market disruption.

FEATURING MAXDIFF: Anchored MaxDiff is an effective technique for determining how a group of different factors (in this case, brand imagery attributes) stack up relative to one another within a choice set. Because the MaxDiff technique forces respondents to make trade-offs, this allows us to uncover what is truly vital to DC plan provider and DC investment manager consideration.

Value

The report will enable subscribers to:

Maximize Revenue
Monitor key drivers of plan sponsor consideration to retain current clients and acquire new business

Measure Loyalty & Momentum
Determine which levers to pull to build loyalty with current plan sponsors to maximize brand momentum

Understand Plan Sponsor Needs
Identify product and service offerings plan sponsors are looking for to increase satisfaction

Methodology

  • 1,300 401(k) plan sponsors managing <$5M to $500M+ in DC assets
  • Web-based survey
  • Carefully analyzed sampling frame based on US retirement plan data from plan sponsor Form 5500 filings that mirrors the market by asset size, number of participants and region

Areas of Inquiry

Plan Sponsor Mindset

  • Primary areas of focus
  • Greatest fears and pain points
  • Confidence in the global economy and outlook for US economy
  • Changes to and types of intermediaries used
  • Print and online media consumption

Plan Design and Financial Wellness

  • Likelihood of recommending SECURE 2.0 offerings
  • Financial wellness program availability and types of components, participant use and success metrics
  • Types of investment advice offered, use rates and barriers
  • Use of and interest in offering multiple or pooled employer plans

Plan Provider Relationships

  • Tenure with current plan provider
  • Likelihood of conducting a formal plan review and switching in the coming year
  • RFP issuance and results of RFP
  • Reasons for switching providers

Plan Provider Brand Equity, Use and Satisfaction

  • Awareness, impression and consideration of 35 plan providers (including 9 digital recordkeepers)
  • Performance on 17 critical brand attributes that drive selection
  • Strengths, weaknesses and growth potential of specific brands
  • Satisfaction with and loyalty to current plan provider
  • Plan provider contact recall

Investment Menu Design

  • Anticipated changes to investment lineups
  • Use of, interest in ESG investments
  • Target date funds offered, features and criteria for provider selection
  • Participant-managed account use
  • Availability and types of retirement income products and service solutions offered
  • Anticipated changes to the plan investment mix
  • Reasons for dropping and/or reducing investments

DC Investment Manager Brand Equity, Use and Satisfaction

  • Awareness, impression and consideration of 43 DC investment managers
  • Performance on 15 critical brand attributes that drive selection
  • Strengths, weaknesses and growth potential of specific brands
  • Frequency and types of contact wanted from DC investment managers
  • DC investment manager contact recall
  • Satisfaction with and loyalty to DC investment managers

Subscription Details

Publication Date: May 2025
Deliverables:

  • Detailed report with a summary of findings and strategic implications
  • Strategy session and presentation to deliver actionable results and facilitate planning
  • Custom data cuts and survey work by senior analysts

Investment: $45,000

Retirement Planscape 2025_Fact Sheet
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