Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

NOMINATOR COMMENTS

Xeris has capitalized on the annual benefits open enrollment period by using that opportunity to promote the 401(k) plan and get a pulse check on how employees view it. In the company’s annual benefits survey, it specifically asks about the plan, and it then increased the employer match to 5% in response to employees’ feedback.

It’s this focus on employee well-being that makes Sarah Kalmes and the Xeris team the perfect candidates for Plan Sponsor of the Year. Since Xeris moved the plan to T. Rowe Price in 2023, it has observed an unwavering commitment to ensuring that the retirement program meets the needs of all employees. It arranged to have the recordkeeper host four on-site meetings per year, on subjects ranging from investment and 401(k) basics to more advanced topics such as tax considerations, Social Security and higher-level investing concepts—e.g., total returns and earned interest. It also focused on providing the right level of financial wellness support across its demographic. Due to its concern that employees haven’t been saving for short-term financial needs, it added Waysaver, T. Rowe Price’s out-of-plan emergency savings app.

Xeris’ investment committee meets quarterly to regularly review the plan’s investment lineup and offers employees access to investment advice through Morningstar.

PLANSPONSOR: Please cite any noteworthy initiatives you have taken in the past 24 to 36 months that have produced results to improve your plan, and describe the results.

Xeris: In 2023, we decided to go through a request for proposals to find a new recordkeeper, since the current one at the time really lacked in employee financial wellness initiatives. We wanted to take a stance on financial wellness and make more content available for employees—to provide more education to them and give them a better user experience.

From the employer side, we also lacked metrics and wanted an easy-to-view portal that had valuable data we could use to target our employee population. Since we switched to T. Rowe Price last year, we’ve been able to promote financial wellness by providing educational sessions to all employees. Our participation has been phenomenal, and employees really enjoy the information they’re receiving. Because some get so busy that they miss emails or aren’t able to attend sessions, we try to send out as much communication as we can, with recaps of the sessions so everyone can take advantage.

Before the recordkeeper switch, we offered one-on-one sessions with a financial planner to give employees more insight into their personal finances and an opportunity to ask questions. We hired Mesirow to stay on top of our investments and make sure our funds are performing well. According to responses to a benefits survey we issued last year, employees really wanted an increase to the employer match, so we raised our match percentage as a result. We also implemented emergency savings for employees—an addition to their financial wellness portfolio.

PLANSPONSOR: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Xeris: This past year has been transformational, having T. Rowe Price as our retirement partner, in being able to educate employees and providing them the information they need to set themselves up for success.

This year, for our Plan Sponsor of the Year profiles, we are publishing Q&As based on the finalists’ applications and nominator comments. Responses are edited and may be paraphrased. In cases where the finalist self-nominated or, on its application, referred judges to the nomination for the answer, we have attributed those nominator answers to the plan sponsor.