Hewitt Associates surveyed employers to learn their likely areas of focus and action in 2009 regarding the design, management, and delivery of their defined contribution, defined benefit, and retiree medical plans for their active, salaried U.S. employees.

Responses from more than 140 employers provide a preview of the changes likely to take place in the retirement landscape in 2009. Some key findings include:

Across all plans

• 36% of respondents are very likely to measure the competitiveness of their program.
  
• 35% of respondents are very likely to assess their retirement plan design.
  
• 55% of respondents rank employees' understanding of retirement benefits as a high priority, closely followed by employees taking accountability for retirement at 52%.

Defined Contribution Plans

• 51% of respondents already offer automatic enrollment to new employees, with 10% of the remainder very likely to implement it this year.
  
• 29% of respondents already offer Roth 401(k) accounts, with 12% of the remaining respondents very likely to implement in 2009.
  
• 58% of respondents are very likely to review DC fund operations, including fund expenses and revenue sharing, with 26% planning to update investment policy statements.

Defined Benefit Plans

• 68% of pension plan sponsors are very likely to continue their current plan with no change in 2009.
  
• 70% of respondents with a pension plan are very likely to perform funding and accounting projections, and 43% are very likely to review funding strategy.
  
• 36% of respondents are very likely to assess the risks that the pension plan is running based on current strategies.

Retiree Medical Plans

• 10% of respondents are very likely to adopt different benefit options and programs (e.g., Medicare Advantage).
  
• 12% of respondents are very likely to reduce benefits/subsidy for future retirees.

Click here to access a PDF of the "Hot Topics in Retirement 2009" survey findings, providing data highlights and analysis of the information we collected.