More than 80% of surveyed U.S. companies that offer defined benefit plans said having such plans affects their ability to retain employees, according to a Diversified Investment Advisors survey. The DIA Report on Retirement Plans survey found that 58% of plan sponsors with more than 25,000 employees believe that their plans have had a "major" impact on employee retention, compared with 23% of companies with between 1,000 and 2,499 employees, said Chris Cumming, senior vice president of marketing.
The survey also found that 17% of employers said they plan to bundle their plan services with a single provider, while 31% will make other changes within the next year; 19% of overall survey respondents are considering reducing plan benefits, 17% are considering bundling defined benefit plan services with a single provider, and 17% are considering moving from a traditional defined benefit plan to a cash balance plan, Mr. Cumming said.
Of the companies surveyed, 30% contributed between $10 million and $99 million in 2003. More than 62% of publicly traded firms contributed at least $10 million, while roughly 20% of private companies did the same.
The survey of 122 publicly traded and 84 private U.S. companies with at least 1,000 non-union employees was conducted in January.
