Employee retirement adequacy is not top of mind for companies as they tackle more pressing issues like remote working operations and payroll matters, Ms. Knox added. Moreover, any plan changes that were not already underway have been postponed indefinitely, she said.
For defined contribution plans specifically, "We're seeing sponsors considering removing wait periods for loans or adding loans if they don't have that feature, as well as ensuring in-service withdrawals and hardship withdrawals are available," Ms. Knox said. "We're seeing increased participant activity in these areas already."
Record keepers are seeing heavy call volumes from people looking for investment advice, which is to be expected, she said, adding that although anecdotal, there hasn't yet been a major uptick in participants shifting their investments.
"As time goes by, plans sponsors will be asking record keepers to provide data on the participant activities during this time so that they can report to their fiduciary committees and make any plan design changes or provide relevant participant communications that are data based," Ms. Knox said.
For now, she said the message plan sponsors should be giving participants is, "Pick up the phone and have a conversation with someone, like a record keeper or an advice provider, before making any rash changes."
