Few Large Company 401(k) Sponsors Making Major Changes After Dudenhoeffer Decision

A survey from Callan Associates shows that few large company sponsors of 401(k) plans intend to make major changes in company stock in their plans in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in the Fifth Third Banc v. Dudenhoeffer case. The report, "2015 Defined Contribution Trends," provided survey data from 144 plan sponsors, 30% of which were non-government agencies and covered a wide variety of topics.

Of the 100 private companies in the survey, almost all offered 401(k) plans. Ninety percent of the respondents had over 500 employees. None reported having an ESOP. About 40% of the plans offered company stock, down from 50% in 2009. All plan sponsors that offer company stock reported taking some action to limit their liability. That including communicating about diversification (54.5%), hardwiring stock investments into plan documents (41%), and better tools to make diversification easier (34%). Some companies reported, however, that they would wait to see how the Supreme Court case plays out in lower courts before making final decisions.