Nearly 90 percent of retirement plan sponsors favor a fiduciary duty for defined contribution plan providers, a recent AARP poll asserts.

The same study found nearly as many (88 percent versus 89 percent) said the providers should be obligated to tell participants if their advice is not required to be in the investors’ best interest.

Despite the absence of a legal mandate, about the same percentage of sponsors are confident providers are behaving as a fiduciary.

AARP said the importance of a fiduciary responsibility by providers is underscored by the results in the poll that only 18 percent of sponsors that provide one-on-one advice to plan participants said they would not impose the obligation on providers on their own if the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission fail to act.

Buttressing the longtime contention of leaders at both agencies that conflicts of interest in plan advice need to be minimized, 77 percent of sponsors told AARP it is important for participants to receive advice from independent advisors who do not make money from the plan’s investments.

Despite the importance of providing unvarnished service to their participants, 56 percent of sponsors believe this conflict exists.

“Many plan sponsors understand the need for stronger protections despite a sense of comfort with their own provider. (Support for a legally imposed fiduciary duty) is a testament to the value that sponsors most likely to be affected by the regulatory change would place on greater assurances that their participants are protected from conflicted advice,” AARP said in the study.