Holding pattern: Employees don’t expect to make any changes to their 401(k)s in 2023

Both employers and employees have serious concerns about their company-sponsored retirement plans, a new study has found. However, the two groups both say they don’t expect changes in 401(k) contributions, the survey showed.

The State of the Industry survey was conducted by Ubiquity, a financial technology firm that serves small business owners. Ubiquity polled more than 1,000 clients across the country at the end of 2022, and found plenty of concern about inflation, a possible recession, and whether employees are saving enough money for retirement.

At the same time, retirement account enrollees are not taking action: the study found that 69% of plan participants expect to make no changes to 401(k) contributions, and

60% of solo 401(k) users also expect to make little to no changes to their 401(k) contributions. In addition, 74% of plan participants say they will make little to no change to their risk tolerance, and 53% of solo 401(k) users also say they will make little to no change to their risk appetite.

This matches the findings for employers and financial advisors: around 70% of financial advisors and plan sponsors expect little to no change in participants’ 401(K) contributions, and between 50% and 58% of advisors and sponsors say they expect little or no change in participants’ overall risk appetite.

“It’s interesting that plan participants’ desire to save enough to last in retirement does not equate to any expected changes to contribution rates across the board,” said Chad Parks, Founder and CEO of Ubiquity. “Instead, plan participants are increasingly looking to employers to offer a retirement benefit to fuel their saving power. In addition, 28.7% of participants voted annuities as the top product they would like to see from us in the future, underscoring that savers are serious about building a lasting nest egg able to support a secure retirement.”

Differences in how sponsors and advisors read inflation trend

The findings (see the chart below) suggest that plan sponsors are more pessimistic about inflation trends than are financial advisors. The survey found that 56% of financial advisors expect inflation to be lower by the end of 2023, but that 57% of plan sponsors expect inflation to be higher at the end of 2023 versus Q4 2022. At the same time, both sponsors and financial advisors listed inflation as a top concern: 59% of advisors called it a top concern, and 57% of plan sponsors said the same.

Regardless, a plurality of both advisors and sponsors said they expected two interest rate hikes by the federal Reserve in 2023. And concerns about a possible recession are also high: 62% of plan sponsors and 57% of financial advisors are concerned about how a recession may impact the performance of 401(k) plans in 2023. Perhaps these concerns are a factor in employers having very little appetite for changing their employee match—80% expect it to stay the same in 2023.

Interestingly, both plan sponsors and advisors tend to say they are at least somewhat prepared for what the next year will bring. When asked how prepared they feel for problems like recession, inflation, and poor investment returns, 55% of sponsors said somewhat prepared, and 31% said very prepared. Advisors were about the same: 56% said somewhat prepared and 38% said very prepared.

Many participants are worried about retirement savings

The survey found that a majority of plan participants (57%) felt they are not saving enough money for retirement. The survey also found that inflation concerns are top of mind for 55% of plan participants and 58% of solo 401(k) users. A possible recession is a major stressor for 50% of plan participants and 58% of solo 401(k) users. And poor returns on investments were also a concern among plan participant respondents, at 48.7%, and 55.8% for solo 401(k) users.

Related: The average retiree has $171K saved for retirement (less than 1/3 of what they need)

One area where plan participants may look to employers for more help is in the area of financial literacy. At a time when many companies are moving toward offering help with financial health as an employee benefit, there are indications from the survey that many employees may welcome such benefits.

Among plan participants, a plurality, 43%, listed their financial literacy as “average.” An additional 16% listed their financial literacy as low or very low. The survey found 41% of plan participants said their financial literacy was high or very high.

Cool on crypto

The report showed one type of investment that survey participants were definitely cool on: cryptocurrency. Overall, 2022 was a year of bad news for crypto, with the meltdown of crypto exchange FTX dominating the headlines.

For the Ubiquity survey, crypto came in last among plan participants when asked about preferred retirement savings. The survey polled 558 plan participants about their preferred retirement asset options and found only 4% of respondents selected crypto as a preferred retirement savings asset class. The report found that 84% of plan participant ranked their 401(k) as a top option, 41% ranked other stock or bond investment as a top option, 37% said savings accounts, and 33% listed real estate.

“With continued turmoil in the crypto space and huge amounts of volatility, I’m not surprised to see 401(k) plan participants shy away from crypto as an asset class for retirement savings,” Parks said. “Retirement accounts are historically reserved for prudent and proven asset classes that are regulated and have demonstrable track records.”