T. Rowe Price was rated the most competent and most trustworthy retirement plan record keeper by plan sponsors in a report by the National Association of Retirement Plan Participants released this week.

With a grade of 93 percent for competence and 86 percent for trust, T. Rowe Price was followed by Vanguard at 89 percent and 81 percent respectively.

Mass Mutual/Hartford was at the bottom of both lists, with 52 percent in competence and 40 percent in trust. ADP was second from the bottom in competence at 54 percent with Charles Schwab holding that place in trust at 44 percent.

The study was based on a poll of 809 sponsors with assets averaging $90.5 million in April by the association in collaboration with Stanford University researchers.

Pension sponsors told NARPP they have the most trust in record keepers with a track record of strong recovery when problems occur, accountability and understanding their specific needs.

The study noted trust is rarely assumed when a plan sponsor is choosing a new record keeper among several.

One of the downsides in the selection process, NARPP noted, is there is too little time to assess trustworthiness yet 95 percent of sponsors said trust is key in making the chose.

Only 9 percent of sponsors say they can trust financial institutions in general to always do the right thing for themselves and their participants. However, over six times as many (65 percent) have a great amount of faith in their own record keepers.

This kind of disparity also shows up in polls where voters are down on Congress as an institution but like their individual representatives.