MFS survey: regulatory change tops DC plan sponsor concerns

Two-thirds of defined contribution plan sponsors cite the changing regulatory and legislative landscape as their top concern, according to the annual MFS Defined Contribution Plan Sponsor Survey. NAPA Net reported the findings on April 9.

Litigation risk ranked second at 47%, and fewer than one in four plans reported actually experiencing it. The survey authors suggest the ranking reflects fear of potential lawsuits rather than their occurrence; overall plan administrative burdens followed closely behind litigation risk.

The authors note that litigation is a leading concern for large and mega plans, the group that has drawn most ERISA-related litigation, while smaller plans were more concerned about participation rates and administrative burdens. Among lawsuits sponsors were willing to describe, many are still ongoing; of those that ended, more than twice as many were settled (35%) than dismissed (15%).

Target-date funds remain the default: 86% of sponsors said a TDF is their plan's qualified default investment alternative. When MFS asked which risks sponsors hoped their TDFs would address, longevity risk was not among the top three they selected.

Among sponsors, 65% said their plans offer actively managed strategies, and slightly more than half of those believe active is the better way to implement certain strategies. Separately, 86% said offering a mix of active and passive is good practice. MFS fielded the blind survey in October and November 2025 among 153 plan sponsors of varying asset sizes, all based in the United States and promised anonymity, sourced through the DCIIA Plan Sponsor Institute.