Retirement Research: The BrightScope/ICI Defined Contribution Plan Profile

The BrightScope/ICI Defined Contribution Plan Profile is designed to increase public understanding in this critical area of retirement savings. The research—which draws from information collected in the BrightScope Defined Contribution Plan Database, with plan-level data gathered from audited Form 5500 filings of private-sector defined contribution (DC) plans—sheds light on DC plan design across many dimensions, including:

• the number and type of investment options offered;
• the presence and design of employer contributions;
• the types of recordkeepers used by DC plans; and
• changes to plan design over time.

In addition, industrywide fee information is matched to investments in DC plans, allowing analysis of the cost of DC plans.