Reference Point 2023 provides data and actionable insights into plan and participant activity throughout the year.
This valuable benchmarking tool analyzes key trends and shares expert commentary you can use to inform your plan strategy decisions.
The year 2022 started with market volatility caused by war, dealt out significant inflation and fears of recession, and ended with one of the most substantial pieces of retirement legislation in years. It’s enough change to unsettle even the most prepared retirement savers. While most retirement savers stayed the course, we did see some changes as a result of 2022’s economic challenges:
For years, retirement plans have proven that auto-solutions are effective plan design features to get participants enrolled, saving, and investing. This was apparent in 2022, even as market and economic uncertainties threatened to push participants off track.
Plan adoption of auto-enrollment rose in 2022 to 85%, continuing an eight-year trend. Overall participant-weighted participation rates fell from 68% in 2021 to 66% in 2022. But despite the declines, auto-enrollment continued to yield far higher participation rates: 86% in 2022 compared with just 37% for plans without auto-enrollment.
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 introduces mandatory and optional provisions that will help increase coverage and allow participants to save more and longer for retirement. The law also helps sponsors to tailor their plans more specifically to the needs of their plan population.
How it will affect plan and participant trends is yet to be seen, given that many of the provisions will not go into effect until 2024, 2025, and beyond. We do anticipate that plan sponsors might implement new plan design features or make other changes based on SECURE 2.0, specifically in these areas:
About the Report
Unless otherwise noted, all data included in this report are drawn from the following sources: Data are based on the large-market, full-service universe—T. Rowe Price total—of T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc., retirement plans (401(k) and 457 plans) consisting of 652 plans and approximately 2 million participants.
For more information on this report or where you can get additional industry-specific data to support your plan design discussions, please contact your T. Rowe Price representative.
This material is provided for general and educational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, tax, or investment advice. This material does not provide recommendations concerning investments, investment strategies, or account types; it is not intended to suggest that any particular investment action is appropriate for you. Please consider your own circumstances before making an investment decision.
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