Universal Group, Inc.

Universal Group, Inc. is an insurance company, headquartered in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1986, the company has grown from one employee to over 1,200. It now provides property and casualty insurance, life insurance products and services, investments and insurance policies’ financing.  According to Sary Ann Vázquez, corporate vice president, human resources, Universal has remained a family-owned business, and its approach to its defined contribution plan and retirement planning benefits in general reflects that orientation.

“Employees are encouraged by management to plan for their future through individualized and group meetings that cover … pre-retirement planning to post-retirement well-being,” Vázquez explains. “We go through a dynamic model that covers an emphasis on total well-being. That is why we regularly and consistently invest in planning activities that increase the resources to contribute to better psychological and financial well-being after retirement.”

Besides providing 401(k) and discretionary profit-sharing plans to help employees save for retirement, the company offers “Generational Talks.” These age-banded group meetings address specific financial and psychological concerns relevant to the participants’ ages; sessions are available to all active employees, Vázquez says.

Employees have access to Universal’s investment advisers and financial planners, at no cost. As a resource to employees and retirees, the advisers work one-to-one with them to give them retirement planning advice and also help implement company initiatives. “That allows our employees to receive professional financial advice, which wouldn’t be available for them that easily otherwise,” says Vázquez.

For example, this April, the company introduced a new initiative, “Universal Saving Month,” which focused on the importance of saving and increasing 401(k) contributions during the month when employees receive salary increases based on performance assessments. The initiative encourages employees to up their contributions by as much as 3%. “We explain that, because for the past year, each of us had lived with the past payroll, we surely can continue living without the salary increase in our pocket so savings will be maximized for retirement,” says Vázquez.   

Another benefit available to every employee who retires from Universal as their last employer, regardless of age, is that the company provides and pays for health insurance coverage for 18 months or until the employee qualifies for Medicare, whichever event occurs first.

Universal emphasizes both the financial and psychological aspects of transitioning to retirement, and the company’s seminars featuring retired employees are an example of that approach. Employees who were eligible for retirement but still working often shared with Vázquez their concerns about leaving the company. The employees “frequently talked about the hard time they were having just thinking they won’t be continuing with their daily routine they had for many years,” she says. “Just thinking that routine will change and they’ll have lots of free time without those old-time friends made people sad.”

In response, Universal’s leadership began working to “help our employees plan and visualize their future as a retiree beyond the financial aspects of the planning stage,” says Vázquez. Employees approaching retirement are invited to presentations in which Universal retirees discuss their experience with the transition. The meetings are live, but during the pandemic virtual sessions also were offered.

The sessions cover a wide range of topics, from “shaking the financial fear to addressing the emotional stress and anxiety and adding value to the sense of freedom when you plan accordingly,” Vázquez says.  As stated by Josely Vega, Universal’s president and CEO: “It is amazing to hear the enthusiasm and the satisfaction of having a plan toward retirement status and to listen to the joy of those who have done it already and felt the support of our company.”

Plan participants can also participate in individual psychological consultations at company expense to discuss retirement concerns. Vázquez explains that Universal encourages the psychological consultations so participants understand that preparing for retirement is a process that needs to be carefully planned by using all available tools and resources that are provided to them and know what to expect.

“This benefit is another way that Universal thanks its employees and shows them the importance of their well-being to the company,” says Vázquez. “We are committed to providing tools and valuable information for the retirement transition.”  

—Ed McCarthy