A recent report from Corporate Insight summarizes and analyzes perception and engagement of plan sponsor websites. The research is based off user data collected from our 2019 DC Plan Sponsor Survey. Overall, sponsors’ satisfaction with websites is relatively high, but room for improvement remains—31% of respondents said they were “very satisfied” with their website experiences, while 52% were just “satisfied” and 14% were “neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.”
Historically, recordkeepers have invested more in the participant digital experience, often to the detriment of the sponsor website. However, our research suggests firms should invest in the sponsor digital experience to retain clients and attract new business.
Our survey also found that plan administrators value the role of the sponsor website in their work: 75% said that the sponsor site is “very important” or “extremely important” to them. In addition, 91% said the sponsor site portal is either as important as—or more important than—the participant site when evaluating providers. Historically, recordkeepers have invested more in the participant digital experience, often to the detriment of the sponsor website. However, our research suggests firms should invest in the sponsor digital experience to retain clients and attract new business.
Digital preferences and behaviors of sponsors on plan sponsor websites
The report reviews the ways that plan sponsors interact with plan sponsor websites, from how often they log in to how regularly they engage with individual site features. We also discuss sponsors’ sentiments about the websites they use and which aspects of the digital experience are most important to them:
- Sponsors say they value most aspects of the sponsor website
- Sponsors log in frequently and perform a wide range of activities
Sponsors rate the importance of nine website feature categories as “very important” or “extremely important” (T2B importance)
Industry trends and takeaways for recordkeepers
The remainder of the report discusses survey data in the context of major industry trends, relating sponsors’ sentiments and behaviors to the state of the retirement industry. Where appropriate, we analyze variations in the data based on plan size:
- Cybersecurity is a top concern against the current backdrop
- Sponsor communication with participants represents an opportunity for improvement
- Perceived importance of regulatory news and performance data reflects today’s legislative climate
- Recordkeepers continue to invest in plan health tools
- Financial wellness programs provide most—but not all—of the features sponsors value
- The increase in responsively designed sites reflects sponsors’ needs
Sponsors overwhelmingly consider mobile access to the sponsor site important
How important is it for you to be able to access key features you use on the plan sponsor website from a smartphone or tablet?
Subscribers can read the full report on plan sponsor websites with complete survey findings on our client portal. For access, or for more competitive intelligence on the user experience that recordkeepers provide plan sponsors, check out Corporate Insight’s Retirement Plan Monitor – Institutional research service offerings.
