Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Guidebook




This guidebook provides a practical overview, helping you better understand today's DC market and prevailing best practices.

Fourth edition

This guidebook is for DC investment committees, CFOs, and HR employee benefits professionals

Since the first edition of this guidebook was published in May 2014, the defined contribution landscape in the U.S. has continued to evolve slowly.

  • Defined contribution (DC) plan governance is under greater scrutiny than ever from regulators and litigators seeking class action.
  • Investment committees are beginning to evaluate more innovative, customized qualified default investment alternatives (QDIAs) beyond traditional target date funds.
  • Plan menus are becoming more consolidated and less focused on offering brand-name funds.
  • There is an increased focus on keeping participants in the plan into and throughout retirement, intersecting with a need to help these participants generate income from their DC savings.
  • The industry and plan sponsors are taking a more holistic approach to participants' financial wellness in the context of retirement readiness.
  • The SECURE Act 2.0 is widely considered the most significant retirement plan legislation, perhaps since the passing of ERISA in 1974.

This guidebook has been created to assist investment committee members in understanding and implementing best practices for designing and managing a competitive defined contribution (DC) plan in today's complex and challenging environment. We hope you find these updates useful, relevant, and informative, and we trust that the guidebook will remain a valuable resource for all those involved in overseeing DC plans.

Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Guidebook Cover

A look inside

Request today

* Asterisks indicate required fields.

Russell Investments is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone, and applying the relevant accessibility standards.

Russell Investments' ownership is composed of a majority stake held by funds managed by TA Associates Management, L.P., with a significant minority stake held by funds managed by Reverence Capital Partners, L.P. Certain of Russell Investments' employees and Hamilton Lane Advisors, LLC also hold minority, non-controlling, ownership stakes.

Frank Russell Company is the owner of the Russell trademarks contained in this material and all trademark rights related to the Russell trademarks, which the members of the Russell Investments group of companies are permitted to use under license from Frank Russell Company. The members of the Russell Investments group of companies are not affiliated in any manner with Frank Russell Company or any entity operating under the "FTSE RUSSELL" brand.

AI-30394-11-27