Recently released Investment Company Institute (ICI) study findings maintain over 75 percent of Americans expressed confidence in defined contribution (DC) accounts to aid in meeting retirement goals.
“DC plans are a popular and powerful savings vehicle for American workers, offering them flexibility, control, and a long-term perspective,” Sarah Holden, ICI senior director of retirement and investor research, said. “The discipline of saving out of each paycheck makes it easier to build a retirement nest egg and eases concerns about short-term market fluctuations.”
The effort, ‘American Views on Defined Contribution Plan Saving, 2018’, showed confidence was higher among individuals whose households owned DC plan accounts, which include 401(k) or individual retirement accounts (IRAs), with 83 percent expressing confidence.
The study showed more than 90 percent of DC-owning individuals agreed employer-sponsored retirement accounts help them think about the long-term, making it easier for them to save while 85 percent agreed the tax treatment of the DC plan is a big incentive to contribute.
The study was comprised of a survey of more than 2,000 American individuals aged 18 or older, officials said, adding respondents were asked about their views on DC retirement account saving, reactions to proposed policy changes and their confidence in 401(k) and other DC plan accounts.