Offering a Retirement Plan for Employees Is the New Standard

Offering a qualified retirement plan has become the new standard for organizations, according to the “2025-2026 Compensation, Retirement, and Benefits Trends Report” by Ascensus. Ninety-eight percent of employers surveyed, including both public and private businesses, as well as Ascensus customers and non-customers, reported offering at least one qualified retirement plan, while 16% offered more than one type. The most common type of plan employers offered by far is a defined contribution plan with an employer match. 

“Employers that pulled back on benefits in 2020 and rebuilt them in 2022 are now offering programs at steadier, more sustainable levels. Second, the needs and preferences of Millennials and [Generation] Z are weighing more heavily on benefits decisionmakers,” said Ascenus CEO Nick Good in a statement. “As a result, we are seeing a greater emphasis on retirement readiness, financial wellness, mental health support, flexibility and help with student debt, alongside careful cost management.” 

When it came to employers partnering with advisers, 91% said they worked with advisers and 65% said that relationships exceeded five years, with 3% of employers changing advisers in the past year.  

When it came to evaluating their retirement plan services, employers prioritized the level and quality of service, administrative ease and fiduciary support services. 

For example, when asked, “What keeps you up at night about your organization’s current retirement plan offering?”, 27% of respondents said fiduciary risk, 21% said participation rates, 20% said service for themselves and their employees, 17% said fees and 15% said administrative burden.  

Respondents were also asked their top three reasons for choosing a new provider versus staying with a current provider. For 71% of employers, said the level and quality of service were the most important factors in evaluating new plan advisers or consultants. The second and third most important factors were cost of service and ease of administration.  

A notable takeaway was that nonqualified deferred compensation plan prevalence is largely correlated to company size, meaning the larger the company, the more likely it is to offer an NQDC plan. Among respondents, 85% of presidents and CEOs were eligible for NQDCs, compared with 70% of vice presidents and 38% of directors. 

“As employers look at their 2026 budgets, leaders are making even more deliberate choices about where to invest every dollar,” said Mike Dunn, president of Newport, in a statement. “Competitive retirement benefits, targeted incentives and expert guidance are essential to developing strong compensation and benefits strategies to attract and retain top talent.” 

The 2025-2026 report included data from 594 U.S. organizations from 16 industries and a range of business sizes—both in terms of employee count and annual gross revenue. Almost three-quarters of survey respondents were from companies with less than 250 employees and less than $50 million in annual revenue. The data was gathered with an online survey tool by Newport’s compensation consulting team between July and August 2025.