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Michele Martin, regional vice president for California and Nevada at ICMA-RC, said the framework for a successful asset retention program includes four major components: building a strong and engaged team, finding the right message, starting early and ongoing implementation of the program. According to Martin, the team should include staff responsible for day-to-day administration of the plan because they are the first point of contact for employees. Providers can also share employee demographics, and participants and/or retirees may want to help guide their peers. To get the message right, identify what is important to participants; survey those age 50 and older, hold retiree focus groups and talk to employees who chose to leave the plan. As examples, Martin said the issue could be fees, diversified investment choices or ease of access to help. Plan sponsors should use the information they find to brand their plans in communications with participants. Plan sponsors should start these communications early, she added. Plan sponsors should get to participants before they develop relationships with outside professionals, before they consolidate assets with another provider and before they leave the company. Martin said plan sponsors should reinforce the message that they and the plan providers are there for participants both when saving and when they are in retirement. Remember the Rule of Seven, Martin suggested, people must hear or see a message at least seven times before they take action. Also, plan sponsors should remember that people learn differently, so they should use multiple channels for communication—seminars, one-on-one meetings, Web messages and mailings.
Michele Martin, regional vice president for California and Nevada at ICMA-RC, said the framework for a successful asset retention program includes four major components: building a strong and engaged team, finding the right message, starting early and ongoing implementation of the program.
According to Martin, the team should include staff responsible for day-to-day administration of the plan because they are the first point of contact for employees. Providers can also share employee demographics, and participants and/or retirees may want to help guide their peers.
To get the message right, identify what is important to participants; survey those age 50 and older, hold retiree focus groups and talk to employees who chose to leave the plan. As examples, Martin said the issue could be fees, diversified investment choices or ease of access to help. Plan sponsors should use the information they find to brand their plans in communications with participants.
Plan sponsors should start these communications early, she added. Plan sponsors should get to participants before they develop relationships with outside professionals, before they consolidate assets with another provider and before they leave the company. Martin said plan sponsors should reinforce the message that they and the plan providers are there for participants both when saving and when they are in retirement.