More employers are educating workers on 401(k) plans – from the benefits of tax-deferred growth to the importance of consistent saving. However, research shows that employees are still in the dark when it comes to investing their assets.
According to a recent study by human resources firm Hewitt Associates, most employees didn’t rebalance or re-allocate their 401(k) portfolios in 2004. Only one in six actually made a transfer within their 401(k) accounts that year.
The study, which examined more than 2.5 million employees eligible for 401(k) plans, also found that many participants were taking on too much risk by investing a significant portion of their savings in a single stock. Company stock was the single largest holding, accounting for approximately 27 percent of participants’ total 401(k) balances. And more than a quarter of employees held half or more of their total 401(k) balances in their employer’s stock.
While some employees took on too much risk by investing heavily in company stock, other employees didn’t invest aggressively enough. The study found that workers in their 20s invested less in equities than workers in...