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Data & Research April 1, 2026
Plan Management, by the Numbers
Nearly one-quarter of surveyed plan sponsors last renegotiated fees with their current adviser more than 5 years ago.
Reported by Edward Rueda
What relationships do retirement plan advisers form with plan sponsors? Sister publication PLANSPONSOR’s 2026 Defined Contribution Plan Benchmarking Report tallied responses of 4,387 plan sponsors from a wide variety of U.S. industries and found that 52.9% of respondents had worked with their adviser for more than seven years, compared with 31.6% who had worked with them for less than five years.
More than three-quarters of respondents (76.1%) said their adviser or advisory team gave excellent service, while 21.6% reported good or satisfactory service, and only 2.3% reported receiving poor service.
Do you employ an adviser or consultant to assist with investment selection and/or plan design?
- Yes, an advisory team
- Yes, an individual adviser
- Yes, an investment consultant
- No
- Unsure
Source: 2026 PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution Plan Benchmarking Report
The survey asked plan sponsors about their adviser’s relationship with participants. They answered that their adviser:
- Directly provides participant financial education and advice, with fee paid by the participant: 9%
- Directly provides participant financial education and advice, with fee paid by the plan sponsor: 20%
- Directly provides participant financial education and advice, with no fee for services: 26%
- Provides guidance about third-party financial education and advice: 4%
- Does not engage in direct participant financial education and advice: 41%
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