In addition, according to Hewitt, less than one in five (18 percent) say they are very confident about their employees' ability to have enough retirement income to last throughout their retirement years.

Employers would also like to add automated tools and investment features that "take the guesswork out of saving and investing."

Hewitt's survey showed a continued emphasis among employers on automating 401(k) plans to help workers maximize the benefits of their retirement plans. Almost half (46 percent) of employers that do not already offer automatic rebalancing--a tool that helps employees regularly balance their portfolios with their target allocations--are very or somewhat likely to add it to their plan in 2010. Nearly four in ten (38 percent) are very or somewhat likely to add automatic contribution escalation--where employees can elect to have their contribution rates increased automatically over time.

An increasing number of employers are also offering investment services and tools to help employees make better investment and savings decisions. Half (51 percent) currently offer online investment guidance and another 42 percent are very or somewhat likely to do so in 2010. In addition, 28 percent of employers currently offer managed accounts, which allow workers to delegate the overall management of their accounts to an outside professional. One-quarter of companies (25 percent) indicate they are very or somewhat likely to offer managed accounts in the coming year.

Other Key Findings

• Fifty-nine percent of employers offer automatic enrollment, up from 51 percent in 2009. Among those that do not currently offer the feature, more than one-quarter (27 percent) are very or somewhat likely to add it in the coming year.
• Employers are taking considerable action to mitigate risk in their 401(k) plans. Nearly seven in ten (68 percent) are very or somewhat likely to increase the amount of employee communication surrounding the investment fees and overall fund fees in their 401(k) plans in the coming year. In addition, six in ten (60 percent) are very or somewhat likely to review their plan's governance structure, and two-thirds (51 percent) are very or somewhat likely to benchmark plan administration and procedures to best practices in 2010.
• Companies are taking a similar risk management approach for their defined benefit pension plans. Of the survey respondents that offer pension plans, 80 percent are very or somewhat likely to review funding strategy and 73 percent are very or somewhat likely to assess how their current strategies are approaching pension plan risks. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) plan to adjust equity exposure and/or overall asset allocation while slightly more than half (52 percent) are very or somewhat likely to adjust their plan investments to align with their plan's liabilities.
• The number of employers offering target date funds in 2010 (78 percent) remained consistent with 2009 (77 percent).
• Nearly one-third (29 percent) of companies currently offer a Roth 401(k) to their employees, consistent with 2009. Twenty-five percent said they are very or somewhat likely to add one in 2010. Among the employers that are unlikely to add a Roth 401(k) account to their plan, 54 percent said that it must be clear employees would use the feature before they added it.
• Fourteen percent of employers currently offer annuities outside their plan as a rollover option, up from 8 percent in 2009. More than one-quarter (28 percent) are very or somewhat likely to add them in 2010.