Retirement plan sponsors are increasingly focused on ways to support their employee participants, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to improve these participants’ outcomes, according to Fidelity Investments’ 12th edition of its “Plan Sponsor Attitudes Study.”

The study found that 88% of plan sponsors made changes to their investment menus and 82% amended their plan designs in the past two years. More than a third of them (34%) this year indicated they are looking to change advisors. That is more than double the 16% that said the same in 2020.

The top reason for wanting to change plan advisors was a desire for better employee communication and education, followed by the desire to pursue lower fees, the need for more retirement expertise and a desire for a better investment lineup, Fidelity noted.

Forty-six percent of plan sponsors want their advisors to have more expertise in helping them minimize costs, while 44% said they want help selecting and monitoring their investment options. Forty-two percent said they want advisors to keep them informed about regulatory changes and how to implement them, the study found.

“Plan advisors should take an active role in engaging both plan sponsors and their employees to emphasize the value of their plan and educate them to help improve outcomes,” said Liz Pathe, head of defined contribution investment only sales at Fidelity Institutional, in a statement. “Otherwise, they might risk losing clients to an advisor who provides better education and guidance.”

Plan sponsors’ satisfaction with their advisors remained high in 2020 at 73% and the perception of advisor value remained high at 69%, but the value perception was down 10% year over year among smaller plans. Fidelity noted that the perception of an advisor’s value by a plan sponsor stems from an advisor helping employees improve their outcomes, helping improve employee satisfaction and providing financial advice and guidance to participants.

As for whether plan sponsors think employees are saving enough for retirement, more than two-thirds of them (68%) believe employees are, an increase from 59% in 2020. The study, however, found that most plan sponsors (86%) believe at least some of their employees are delaying retirement because of a savings shortfall, and nearly two-thirds (60%) believe the pandemic had an effect on their employees’ decision to retire.

It’s also noteworthy that only 16% of plan sponsors said they had reduced the employer matching contribution over the past two years.

Half of the plan sponsors said they were implementing wellness programs to help employees improve or track their health, and 44% were making changes to their health plans to lower company premiums.

Furthermore, 71% of plan sponsors reported that their advisor had spoken to them about a financial wellness program, and 62% have implemented one in the past two years. Nearly three-quarters of plan sponsors (73%) said the programs had helped employees, up from 61% last year.

Seventy-one percent of plan sponsors said their advisors had spoken to them about health savings accounts (HSAs), and more than three-quarters (78%) found advisor HSA guidance important. Fidelity noted that plan sponsors offering these accounts have seen increased enrollment, with more than half of employees (55%) enrolled in an HSA, up from 40% in 2020.

The Fidelity study was conducted in March and included 1,169 plan sponsors polled online.