The Jackson Laboratory

In hopes of increasing employee engagement, the Jackson Laboratory reevaluated the design of its 403(b) plan as it prepared for a 2019 conversion to recordkeeper Vanguard. After introducing automatic enrollment and automatic escalation, participation has increased from 82% to 97%.

“We’ve been involved in a series of efforts to make JAX an ‘employer of choice,’” Catherine Longley, executive vice president and chief operating officer says of the Bar Harbor, Maine-based nonprofit research organization. “We’re in the biomedical space, and like everybody else, it’s a challenge to recruit. Benefits such as a rich retirement plan help to distinguish us.”

Prior to the conversion, JAX officials reviewed benchmarking data comparing its 403(b) plans to peer employers. “We saw that our overall plan health was strong, but that we could have better participation, particularly among our newer and younger employees,” recalls Martha Munhall, JAX’s executive director of human resources operations.

So beginning in 2020, JAX’s 403(b) plan implemented automatic enrollment at 5% and auto-escalation at 1% per year, up to a 10% ceiling. The plan also reenrolled at 5% all non-participating eligible employees, as well as those participating but deferring less than 5%. “We already knew that we had a good match of 100% up to 5%, so doing the reenrollment sweep at 5% was very much a conscious choice,” Munhall says. “We wanted our employees to understand not only what we were doing, but that it had benefits for them. So we educated people about not leaving anything (from the employer contribution) on the table.”

At the same time, the plan also changed its vesting requirement from four-year cliff vesting to one-year vesting to get 100% of the employer contribution. The plan limited loan usage to one loan outstanding at a time, for a maximum of 50% of a participant’s vested account balance (up to $50,000).

The plan has for years offered a 100% match up to 5% of pay deferred, plus a 5% nonelective contribution, so a participant who contributes 5% receives a total contribution of 15%. “Like other nonprofits, the contribution is one of the tools in our toolbox to look at total compensation for our employees,” Longley says of the business case for the expense.

Also like some other employers, the Jackson Laboratory is now looking beyond traditional benefits to other perks that can help attract and keep employees. Many of its employees have advanced college degrees and student debt, so JAX has partnered with Tuition.io Inc. to provide employees with student loan consulting and assistance services.

In January 2024, JAX is scheduled to open an onsite childcare facility, in partnership with the local YMCA, for its employees’ offspring. It already has built a 24-unit apartment complex within walking distance of the employer’s Bar Harbor office and may build more units. Munhall says the units are rented at market rate to employees and are a rare opportunity for employees to live in housing near the office, since almost all nearby rentals are seasonal vacation housing.

“It’s not just about salary,” Longley says. “We are trying to attract employees from all generations, so we offer a wide array of benefits to attract a diverse population of employees.”