60% of DC plans unchanged since crisis began

Three of five defined contribution plans have not changed in regard to employee participation and corporate matching contributions despite the recent financial crisis, according to a survey from the American Benefits Council and non-profit retirement advocacy group WorldatWork. Two-thirds of companies in the "Trends in 401(k) Plans," indicated that at least 70% of their eligible employees participated in a 401(k) plan in 2008; 49% reported that more than 10% of eligible employees made a maximum contribution to their plan, and 17% reported that more than 50% of employees contributed the maximum. Half of employers surveyed offer a 3% to 4% matching contribution to employees' 401(k) plans based on the employee's contribution. Eight percent of employers offered less than that level. There was no data on companies offering no match. Cash was the form of employer 401(k) match among 91% of respondents, up 17 percentage points since the last survey in 2003. The survey was conduced during a two-week period in December and included responses from 505 members of the ABC and WorldatWork.