Key Takeaways
- • Callan's 2026 Defined Contribution Trends Survey, now in its 19th year, drew responses from 80 mega DC plan sponsors, with more than 90% of plans holding over $200 million in assets and 62% having more than 10,000 participants.
- • Plan governance and process was the top area of focus for sponsors, followed by investment management fees and investment structure evaluation.
- • Reviewing the investment policy statement was the most prevalent fiduciary action in 2025, while formal fiduciary training for committee members and staff fell to 66% from 73% in 2024.
- • Increased catch-up contributions for participants aged 60 to 63 was the most widely used optional SECURE 2.0 provision at 90%, ahead of self-certification of hardship withdrawals at 66%.
- • Mutual funds (83%) were offered by more respondents than collective investment trusts (77%), though 403(b) plans remain ineligible to use CITs.
Summary
Callan, an employee-owned institutional investment consulting firm, announced the results of its 2026 Defined Contribution Trends Survey, according to a PR Newswire release. The survey, conducted in late 2025, covers governance, investments, fees, and plan design, and includes responses from 80 mega DC plan sponsors, both Callan clients and other organizations. Respondents spanned several industries, with government and financial services the largest. Sixty-one percent were corporate organizations, followed by public entities (21%) and tax-exempt entities (18%).
Patrick Wisdom, a vice president and DC consultant at Callan, said sponsors remain focused on fundamentals: governance, fees, and investment structure. He added that as the DC ecosystem innovates around guaranteed income and private markets, effective governance and durable fiduciary frameworks will remain paramount.
On fiduciary practice, reviewing the investment policy statement was the most common action taken in 2025, consistent with 2024. Formal fiduciary training ranked second at 66%, down from 73% a year earlier. More than three-quarters of respondents took at least one action on their target date fund offering in 2025.
On investment vehicles, mutual funds and collective investment trusts remain the most prevalent options. The survey also found that the most widely used optional SECURE 2.0 provision was enhanced catch-up contributions for participants aged 60 to 63, cited by 90% of respondents, followed by self-certification of hardship withdrawals at 66%.
Callan advises clients with more than $3 trillion in total assets and has six U.S. offices.
Patrick Wisdom, a vice president and DC consultant at Callan, said sponsors remain focused on fundamentals: governance, fees, and investment structure. He added that as the DC ecosystem innovates around guaranteed income and private markets, effective governance and durable fiduciary frameworks will remain paramount.
On fiduciary practice, reviewing the investment policy statement was the most common action taken in 2025, consistent with 2024. Formal fiduciary training ranked second at 66%, down from 73% a year earlier. More than three-quarters of respondents took at least one action on their target date fund offering in 2025.
On investment vehicles, mutual funds and collective investment trusts remain the most prevalent options. The survey also found that the most widely used optional SECURE 2.0 provision was enhanced catch-up contributions for participants aged 60 to 63, cited by 90% of respondents, followed by self-certification of hardship withdrawals at 66%.
Callan advises clients with more than $3 trillion in total assets and has six U.S. offices.
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