Ameriprise Announces Plan Change Education Program

According to a news release, the new Pension Change Education Solutions, part of Ameriprise’s InMotion suite of financial education programs for corporate and organizational change, allows employers to direct their attention to implementing the design changes while knowing that employees are receiving timely, thorough education. The announcement notes the growing number of employers making substantive plan changes including many who are closing their defined benefit program to new employees.

A dedicated service team, including a Financial Education Consultant and additional subject matter experts, are trained on specific changes, benefit offerings and unique aspects of each company’s current corporate situation, Ameriprise said.

“Whatever drives change in an organization’s retirement plan benefits, employers hope to minimize employee anxiety when communicating those changes,” said Rusty Field, vice president of Ameriprise Financial Education and Planning Services, in the news release. “Benefits leaders can become overwhelmed by employee questions during these times. Our goal is to deliver consistent and relevant information for employees, allowing employers to focus on the larger challenges of leading the changes in their organization.”

According to the announcement, the new offering can include:

• group education sessions addressing the details of the benefit change and critical dates, led by a knowledgeable financial advisor,
• individual one-on-one consultations,
• utilization of client-provided pension modeling tools,
• workplace-priced personal financial planning,
• written materials and tools,
• phone interaction, and
• online tools and materials.