Research synthesis · 2024–2025
Key data points, participant signals, and AI-driven insights a retirement plan advisor needs across their book of business — sourced from Cerulli, Vanguard, DALBAR, BlackRock, Fidelity, and NAPA research.
| # | Data / Insight Area | Key metrics & signals | Category | Research source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plan health dashboard | Participation rate, avg deferral rate, employer match rate, auto-enrollment & auto-escalation adoption, professionally managed allocation uptake | Plan-level | DALBAR 2024; Vanguard How America Saves |
| 2 | Participant-level data & segmentation | Compensation, non-retirement savings, personal debt, generation/age cohort, income band, proximity to retirement | Participant | Cerulli; Goldman Sachs Retirement Survey 2025 |
| 3 | Predictive analytics & at-risk ID | Behavioral signals across the book, propensity-to-disengage scores, targeted messaging triggers by segment | AI / predictive | John Hancock; 401k Specialist |
| 4 | Plan leakage & hardship alerts | Loan initiations, hardship withdrawal events, early distributions, leakage rate vs. plan benchmark | Risk / alert | PLANSPONSOR March 2026 |
| 5 | Retirement income readiness | Projected income replacement ratio, on-track % by cohort, decumulation readiness, retirement income solution adoption rate | Participant | BlackRock Advisor Outlook 2024 |
| 6 | Benchmarking vs. peers | Plan vs. industry peers by sector & size; avg balances, deferral rates, auto-feature adoption, advice services offered | Plan-level | Vanguard HAS benchmark reports |
| 7 | Plan sponsor engagement & retention risk | Sponsor satisfaction signals, service gap flags, RFP/advisor-search triggers (47% of plans searched for a new advisor — Fidelity 2023) | Business dev | Fidelity Plan Attitudes Study 2023 |
| 8 | Recordkeeper data sharing & wellness integration | Financial wellness tool engagement (used / not used), rollover pipeline visibility, recordkeeper data-sharing gaps across the book | Integration | Cerulli U.S. Retirement Markets 2024 |
| 9 | SECURE 2.0 & regulatory compliance | Adoption of emergency savings accounts, Roth match options, financial incentive provisions; DOL fiduciary compliance flags | Risk / alert | Cerulli; Mercer Advisors 2025 |
| 10 | Personalization at scale via AI | TDF-to-managed-account upgrade candidates, advice enrollment gaps, participants who would most benefit from personalized guidance | AI / predictive | Cerulli; Corporate Insight DC Benchmark 2025 |