Larger Plans Offer Many Benefits
While 401(k) plans have become prevalent across companies of all sizes, employees at larger firms enjoy greater access to a wider range of additional benefits than do those at smaller firms. Obviously, larger companies have greater access to the resources and scale needed to offer various supplemental plans. The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau—i.e., from 2012—indicates that 51.6% of American workers are employed at companies with 500 employees or more. This would suggest that these workers are being equipped with more resources to achieve financial security. This also means nearly half of American workers are not.
Additional benefits such as nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plans, defined benefit (DB) plans and health savings accounts (HSAs) are far more prevalent among midsize, large and mega plans than they are among micro and small plans. For example, 28.5% of large and 41.8% of mega plans have NQDC plans, yet only 1.5% of micro and 4.9% of small plans have them, according to the 2016 PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution (DC) Survey. DB plans can be found among 71.3% of large and 81.9% of mega plans but only 24.8% of micro and 28.7% of small plans—although at the larger companies they are more likely to be closed to new entrants or frozen than at micro companies where they may be active. HSAs are available at 68.2% of large and 78.6% of mega plans but only 31.0% of micro and 48.2% of small plans.
Larger plans may even offer retiree health benefits: 46.1% of large and 62.0% of mega plans provide these, while a mere 3.3% of micro and 10.7% of small plans do. Access to 529 college savings plans are offered at 22.4% of large and 18.0% of mega plans but at only 3.5% of micro and 9.7% of small plans; tuition reimbursement is available to employees at 79.6% of mega plans but only 22.9% of micro plans.
Types of DC Plans Offered
| Overall | Micro | Small | Mid | Large | Mega | ||
| 401(k) | 85.8% | 90.8% | 86.1% | 78.2% | 78.5% | 83.3% | |
| 403(b) | 11.4% | 6.2% | 11.1% | 16.9% | 21.0% | 16.3% | |
| 457 | 11.9% | 4.2% | 11.3% | 18.9% | 24.4% | 24.8% | |
| Money Purchase | 2.4% | 1.1% | 2.7% | 3.5% | 3.9% | 3.9% | |
| Profit Sharing | 19.2% | 17.0% | 22.7% | 20.2% | 19.3% | 10.6% | |
| ESOP | 3.3% | 1.1% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.1% | 9.2% | |
| KSOP | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 0.7% | |
| NQDC | 9.9% | 1.5% | 4.9% | 16.1% | 28.5% | 41.8% | |
| SEP | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.4% | |
| SIMPLE IRA | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.0% | |
| Other | 3.8% | 2.9% | 2.7% | 4.0% | 6.6% | 9.9% | |
Types of Workplace Retirement/Savings Plans Offered
| Overall | Micro | Small | Mid | Large | Mega | ||
| DB Plan (Traditional) | 28.9% | 21.3% | 24.1% | 32.8% | 50.3% | 56.3% | |
| DB Plan (Cash Balance) | 7.7% | 3.4% | 4.6% | 8.5% | 16.8% | 34.1% | |
| DB Plan (Hybrid) | 2.9% | 0.8% | 1.9% | 4.1% | 4.0% | 18.1% | |
| Any DB Plan | 36.0% | 24.8% | 28.7% | 41.5% | 71.3% | 81.9% | |
| Equity Compensation Plan | 10.9% | 2.0% | 6.2% | 16.4% | 32.0% | 47.1% | |
| Health Savings Accounts | 47.5% | 31.0% | 48.2% | 60.0% | 68.2% | 78.6% | |
| Retiree Health Benefits | 16.8% | 3.3% | 10.7% | 25.0% | 46.1% | 62.0% | |
| 529 College Savings Plan | 10.3% | 3.5% | 9.7% | 19.8% | 22.4% | 18.0% | |
Types of Programs Offered to Assist With Higher/Continuing Education
| Overall | Micro | Small | Mid | Large | Mega | ||
| Tuition reimbursement | 47.1% | 22.9% | 50.8% | 66.1% | 74.4% | 79.6% | |
| Student loan repayment | 2.2% | 1.2% | 2.0% | 3.5% | 4.2% | 2.2% | |
| None | 50.7% | 74.6% | 48.1% | 31.1% | 22.6% | 16.8% | |