Staking Out the Stats

A new study by human resources firm Hewitt Associates finds that despite continued efforts to educate employees on the importance of saving for retirement, many companies do not feel workers are stepping up to the challenge. The study reveals that only 6% are confident their employees will take accountability for their own retirement future this year. In order to encourage workers to take control of their retirement savings 23% of companies surveyed say they are very likely to add automatic enrollment features in their 401(k) plans by the end of the year; 13% plan to add contribution escalation features and 20% plan to add automatic rebalancing of 401(k) accounts. Here is a look at other key findings: *Only 13% of companies say they are very likely to add a Roth 401(k) in 2006. Reasons cited by employers for not offering a Roth 401(k) this year included administrative complexity, vague guidelines, concerns about lack of use by employees, and difficulties communicating the Roth 401(k). *6% of companies say they are very likely to add annuities as a form of payment option in 2006. *79% of companies say they plan to make no changes to their company match. Eight percent say they plan to add/increase the company.