With the decline in pensions, most people are responsible for steering their own retirement plans, but a recent study suggests they would rather have someone else take the wheel.

Americans are highly dependent on their employers and managers of their defined contribution plans, according to "Who’s In the Driver’s Seat," a national survey of defined contribution plan participants by American Century Investments.

The survey found that defined contribution plan participants tend to regret their past saving behavior and want more direction on how to save and plan for their financial goals. Almost 90 percent of survey respondents between the ages of 24 and 65 regretted not saving earlier.

Most plan participants seek independence in retirement, not affluence, according to the survey. More than two-thirds of respondents aged 25 to 54, 68 percent, expected their standard of living to be the same as it is now or worse in retirement; among pre-retirees, that number skyrockets to 90 percent.

In general, the study found that plan participants are looking to their employers to help them establish good saving and investment patterns. High numbers of respondents between the ages of 55 and 65, 69 percent, and between the ages of 24 and 54, 70 percent, expressed fair or high interest in employer-sponsored plans that automatically raised paycheck withholdings each year until maxing-out their 401(k) contributions.

The survey was conducted in February and focused on 2,031 respondents who are participating in their employer’s retirement plan.

The study also found that:

  • Most respondents, 73 percent, said they could have afforded to save more for retirement.
  • Among pre-retirees aged 55-65, 73 percent said they have underestimated what they will need to save for retirement.
  • Sixty-five percent of respondents had positive views of companies that offered auto-enrollment, automatic increases, and target date funds as part of their retirement plans.