Here are four top trends that emerged:

Focus is shifting beyond SECURE 2.0 compliance to optional features that can improve financial flexibility, retirement readiness, and employee support. However, adoption remains "selective," according to the report, with nearly one in two respondents reporting no optional SECURE 2.0 provisions or uncertainty about adoption.
Retirement readiness is increasingly dependent on plan design more than employee action alone. Automation, contribution structures, and eligibility contributions can help encourage consistent saving. More than half of respondents (57%) use auto-enrollment features, and 33% use auto-escalation features.
Managed accounts, digital tools, and AI-enabled solutions are making personalized financial guidance "more scalable," according to the report. More than four in five respondents offer self-service tools like calculators and modeling dashboards.
Financial support is expanding beyond retirement plans to include health care accounts, debt management, and emergency savings. Almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) offer HSA contributions, 14% offer student loan repayment options, and 5% offer emergency savings programs.

"What we're clearly seeing is growing demand for hyper-personalized support from employees," says Molly Beer, a retirement plan consultant at Gallagher who also was a contributor to the 20-page Financial Benchmarks report. "The challenge is that delivering one-to-one guidance at scale is incredibly difficult, especially across large workforces. That's where managed accounts, advice solutions, and, increasingly, technology and AI come into play. They help bridge the gap between the individualized support employees want and what organizations can realistically deliver."

Instant Insights /

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