NU Online News Service, Feb. 20, 2004, 6:16 p.m. EST – Members of traditional pension plans and members of 401(k) plans have different retirement plan preferences.[@@]
Researchers from Mathew Greenwald & Associates, Washington, uncovered those differences in a major survey sponsored by the Society of Actuaries, Schaumburg, Ill., and the American Academy of Actuaries, Washington.
The researchers asked 390 members of defined benefit plans and 444 members of defined contribution plans about the importance of various retirement plan features.
"Provides you a guaranteed stream of income each month for life starting at retirement" was the top feature for members of defined benefit plans. The researchers found that 68% of the defined benefit plan said that feature was "very important," compared with 51% of the defined contribution plan members.
For defined benefit plan members, the only other feature that was very important to more than half of the survey respondents was guaranteed, lifetime retirement income both for working spouses and their widows and widowers.
