Eligibility and Vesting Policies Curtail Savings
GAO also says requiring participants to be employed on the last day of the year to receive matching contributions also lowers potential retirement savings.
Plan sponsors impose eligibility, vesting and matching policies on their participants in order to lower costs and reduce turnover, but these policies limit people’s ability to save, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
GAO examined the policies of 80 401(k) plans and found that
41% do not permit those younger than age 21 to participate in their retirement
plan. Twenty-four percent required participants to be employed on the last day
of the year to receive company matches for that year, and 71% had vesting
policies that require people to be employed for specific periods of time before
their company matches are vested.
While the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) permits employers to
set these rules, GAO notes, 401(k) plans have become the primary retirement
savings vehicle for Americans, who change jobs frequently. GAO says these
policies could potentially reduce people’s retirement savings by significant
amounts.
“For example, assuming a minimum age policy of 21, GAO
projections estimate that a medium-level earner who does not save in a plan or
receive a 3% employer matching contribution from age 18 to 20 would have $134,456
less savings by their retirement age of 67 ($36,422 in 2016 dollars),” GAO
says. In addition, “GAO’s projections suggest that if a medium-level earner did
not meet a last day policy when leaving a job at age 30, the employer’s 3%
matching contribution not received for that year could have been worth $29,297
by the worker’s retirement at age 67 ($8,150 in 2016 dollars).”
As far as vesting is concerned, GAO continues, “if a worker leaves two jobs
after two years, at age 20 and 40, where the plan requires three years for full
vesting, the employer contributions forfeited could be worth $81,743 at
retirement ($22,143 in 2016 dollars).”
GAO is suggesting that Congress look into the minimum age required to participate in 401(k) plans and plans’ use of a last-day policy. In addition, GAO is asking the Treasury Department to “reevaluate existing vesting policies to assess if current policies are appropriate for today’s mobile workforce.”
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