More than a third of 401(k) plan participants surveyed by Northern Trust Retirement Consulting said they don’t know how to invest or don’t know anything about the stock market. The survey of 450 plan participants showed an additional 9% of participants indicated that they would be better off trusting investment professionals.
Although 89% of those surveyed indicated that employees need to be able to invest their 401(k) assets as they please, 37% said employers should be responsible for monitoring employees’ accounts to ensure participants are making good investment decisions. Also, 31% of respondents think employers should automatically enroll employees in 401(k)s when they’re hired, and 19% indicated employers should ensure the value of employees’ 401(k) accounts if there is a prolonged downturn in the stock market.
