The majority of 401(k) investors are reluctant to review or actively manage their plan, a survey of 1,000 people by
Sixty-one percent identified themselves as “accidental investors,” meaning they lack confidence in managing their investments, don’t enjoy it and give them minimal attention.
“As defined contribution plans quickly replace defined benefit plans as the primary retirement savings account for most corporate employees in the United States, a logical assumption would be that employees are ready to accept control of their retirement investments,” said Dick Davies, senior managing director and head of institutional defined contribution services at AllianceBernstein. “The high number of ‘accidental investors’ illustrated in this research shows us that is not the case.”
Nearly half review their investments once and year, while 32% never do.
Davies said that the Pension Protection Act will hopefully help address some of these problems.
