2022
Corporate DC >$150MM – $250MM

ASM Research, an Accenture Federal Services Company

FINALIST
Fairfax, Virginia
Tammy Lassiter
401(k) Plan Administrator
  • Plan
    401(k)
  • Total Plan Assets
    $200.7MM
  • Number of Participants
    1,928
  • Participation Rate
    88.4%
  • Average Deferral Rate
    9%
  • Default Deferral Rate
    6%
  • Default Investment
    Fidelity Freedom Index target-date funds
  • Automatic Enrollment
  • Automatic Escalation
  • Employer Contribution
    50% of up to 6% with an annual cap of $2,300 + discretionary contribution
  • Providers
    Recordkeeper: Principal Financial Group; Adviser: Sagemark Consulting
  • Financial Wellness Educators
    Sagemark Consulting, Principal Financial Group


ASM Research LLC, a consulting firm based in Fairfax, Virginia, that provides technology and analytical services for the federal government, has been solving problems to make its 401(k) plan more valuable to employees.

“We modified our plan several years ago so everyone can participate,” says Tammy Lassiter, senior retirement plan adviser at ASM Research. All new employees are automatically enrolled in the plan at the 6% rate, including part-time workers and interns. Lassiter, who manages the daily functions of the plan and hosts education initiatives, has been with the company for 20 years and earned her 401(k) administrator certification so she could learn about more ways to improve the plan. “I was looking to do a better job,” she says.

One of their main goals was to help make up for a limited match. The company’s corporate structure made it difficult to increase the existing matching contributions, but they found a way to add an annual discretionary contribution based on the company’s profits, which generally adds 2% to 3% of gross pay to participant accounts. “Everyone gets it–they’re eligible if they’re employed on December 31,” says Lassiter. The CEO makes an announcement each year to get participants excited about the extra contribution.

When a Muslim employee asked about her options since her faith does not allow for interest to be earned on funds, Lassiter worked with Bob Gottschling of Sagemark Consulting, the financial adviser for the plan, to research solutions. “You can give a religious exemption so they don’t have to participate in the plan, but we didn’t want them to miss out on the discretionary contribution, because it’s a sizable amount,” says Lassiter.

Gottschling and his team reviewed several Shariah-compliant funds and chose one to add to the plan. “Now there are options for people to participate in this situation,” says Lassiter. The team worked together to implement the change. “This is an example of where having a good, healthy 401(k) committee was beneficial because it included plan design and investment considerations and governance situations,” says Gottschling.

They also discovered that by offering automatic escalation only to people who signed up to contribute 1% or more, they were leaving out employees whose financial situations may have improved since they initially decided not to enroll.  “Many people set it and forget it, and it’s not too much for them to look at it at least once a year,” says Lassiter. Employees can still opt out if they choose to, but now they need to consider the decision each year. More than 88% of employees participate in the plan, with an average deferral of 9% among participants.

ASM Research makes financial wellness and education a company priority, and the focus on financial education starts on day one for new hires, often serving as the first personal finance education for college interns and recent graduates. The company offers four or five financial education sessions each year focused specifically on the employee, and gets participants involved in the process.

A recent seminar featured two presentations by ASM employees who are passionate about budgeting and saving. When a colleague mentioned to Lassiter that a few employees were really into paying off their debt and budgeting, she invited them to speak at the seminar so others could learn from their experience. “I asked them to say a few words, and they were fantastic—they created their own PowerPoint and were so energetic. After the session was over, several people reached out to say how great it was to have them participate in it.”

Since many employees work remotely, the presentations are posted on the company’s intranet, making it easy to view with their spouses, too. A seminar about estate planning action items was particularly popular. Employees recently asked Gottschling to do two levels of investing seminars, one for beginners and another focusing on more advanced investing topics.

Participants can also access three levels of personal financial planning help: Principal’s traditional call center; Principal’s dedicated retirement planning counselors, available through its Retire Secure program; and Gottschling and his colleagues at Sagemark.

The company provides financial wellness benefits to help employees at all life stages, such as a special fund that offers grants for emergency expenses, which has been particularly helpful for Texas-based employees after recent storms. They also offer a tuition rewards program that earns college scholarships, and they partner with a program that provides student loan refinancing. These programs help employees free up money to contribute to their 401(k) and avoid having to take loans from the plan.

Kimberly Langford

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