The most widely used optional SECURE 2.0 provision was increased catch-up contributions for participants aged 60 to 63 (90%)
SAN FRANCISCO, April 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Callan, a leading institutional investment consulting firm, announced today the results of its 2026 Defined Contribution Trends Survey. Now in its 19th year, the survey covers the key tenets of DC plan management, such as governance, investments, fees, and plan design. The survey paints a detailed picture of the challenges and opportunities that are important to DC plan sponsors.
“Our 2026 survey shows that DC plan sponsors continue to be sharply focused on the fundamentals: governance, fees, and investment structure,” said Patrick Wisdom, a vice president and DC consultant at Callan. “As the DC ecosystem innovates around areas such as guaranteed income and private markets, effective governance and durable fiduciary frameworks will remain paramount for plan sponsors.”
Conducted in late 2025, the survey incorporates responses from 80 mega DC plan sponsors, both Callan clients and other organizations. Respondents spanned a range of industries, with the top being government and financial services. More than 90% of plans in the survey had over $200 million in assets, and 62% had more than 10,000 participants. Sixty-one percent of respondents were corporate organizations, followed by public (21%) and tax-exempt (18%) entities.
Key Findings:
- Plan governance and process returned as the top area of focus, followed by investment management fees and investment structure evaluation.
- Reviewing the investment policy statement was the most prevalent fiduciary action taken in 2025, consistent with 2024. Completing formal fiduciary training for committee members and staff came in second (66%), representing a slight decrease from 2024 (73%).
- More than three-quarters of respondents took at least one action around their target date fund (TDF) offering in 2025.
- Mutual funds and collective investment trusts (CITs) continued to be the most prevalent investment vehicles, with mutual funds (83%) offered by more respondents than CITs (77%). Notably, certain plan types, such as 403(b) plans, remain ineligible to use CITs.
- The most widely used optional SECURE 2.0 provision was increased catch-up contributions for participants aged 60 to 63 (90%). The next was self-certification of hardship withdrawals (66%).
Find the summary blog post and survey here.
About Callan
Callan was founded as an employee-owned investment consulting firm in 1973. Ever since, we have empowered institutional clients with creative, customized investment solutions backed by proprietary research, exclusive data, and ongoing education. Today, Callan advises clients with more than $3 trillion in total assets, which makes it among the largest independently owned investment consulting firms in the U.S. Callan uses a client-focused consulting model to serve pension and defined contribution plan sponsors, endowments, foundations, independent investment advisers, investment managers, and other asset owners. Callan has six offices throughout the U.S. Learn more at callan.com.
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Anathan
mediarelations@callan.com
415-274-3020
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SOURCE Callan LLC
