The typical retirement plan administration firm that belongs to the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries has 16 employees and generated $1.5 million in annual 2009 revenue.
ASPPA, Arlington, Va., says about 150 retirement plan third party administrators (TPAs) participated in the survey.
The participating TPAs administer about $329 million in plan assets each and collect an average of about $500,000 in advisory and brokerage revenue.
The average case administered by the TPAs has 43 lives and $1.2 million in assets. (Allison Bell)
In other survey news:
- Principal Financial Group Inc., Des Moines, Iowa (NYSE:PFG), says employers can increase overall 401(k) plan participant contributions by increasing the employees’ target-deferral rate while keeping the employer’s contribution at a fixed percentage of income.
Principal has published this finding in a summary of results from an analysis of about 6,560 401(k) contracts that show a stated match formula. The plans have a total of about 116,000 participants.
When the employer changed the match formula to 50% of up to 4% of pay, from 100% of up to 2% of pay, the average participant contribution rose to 5.6%, from 5.3%, and the total contribution — including the employer match — rose to 7.6%, from 7.3%.
Similarly, when the matching formula is changed to 25% of up to 8% of pay, from 100% of up to 2% of pay, the total contribution increases to 8.8%, from 7.6%. (Warren S. Hersch)
- Researchers at the MetLife Mature Market Institute, Westport, Conn., an affiliate of MetLife Inc., New York (NYSE:MET), and the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement, Washington, say middle-market women may be more interested in financial advisors who are familiar with a wide variety of financial tools, and that higher-income women are more interested in advisors who can take a long-term view of financial needs.
The researchers have published data on female prospects’ views in a summary of an online survey of U.S. women ages 45 to 70 with personal incomes of $75,000 or more or household incomes of $100, 000 or more. Survey participants were employed full-time; considered themselves to be professionals, managers, executives, middle manager or self-employed; and said they participate in household financial decisions. The researchers did not release the number of participants.
Both women in the $75,000-$99,000 household income category and in the $200,000-and-over category ranked “feeling of trust and respect” as the top factor when choosing an advisor.
But 47% of the owmen in the $75,000-$99,000 category said “knowledge of financial tools” was an important factor, and 43% listed “ability to explain financial concepts” as a key factor. Only 24% of the women in the $200,000-and-over category were looking of knowledge of financial tools, and only 25% said they would pick an advisor based on explanatory skills.