Healthesystems, LLC

For Healthesystems, a coordinator and manager of medical benefits in the worker’s compensation industry, a key strategy to improving its plan was transitioning to a 3(38) fiduciary model. This structural change enabled navigating from mutual funds to lower-cost H-share collective investment trusts, with a scheduled move to “TC” shares. Further, it reinforced its fee transparency with a pro rata structure and instituted new quarterly oversight for forfeiture management to ensure responsible usage consistent with ERISA guidelines. Before recent, devastating hurricanes, Healthesystems implemented pension-linked emergency savings accounts and eased its hardship rules.

Heather Stempien, employee engagement director, Healthesystems, LLC

To get to know them better, PLANSPONSOR sent the 2026 Plan Sponsor of the Year winners a list of questions from which to choose four to answer. Below are responses from Heather Stempien, employee engagement director, on behalf of Healthesystems, LLC.

PLANSPONSOR: How does your organization’s leadership approach its commitment to employee retirement readiness and financial well-being?

Healthesystems: At Healthesystems, we take our responsibility to support employees’ retirement readiness seriously—our people are relying on us, and we don’t take that lightly. Financial well-being is a core goal of our overall well-being strategy—helping employees engage in caring for their financial health just as actively as they do their physical and mental health.

We are intentional about building a program that drives meaningful outcomes, which is why we carefully select our partners to ensure alignment with our culture and values. By working closely with our adviser and recordkeeper and meeting often with our retirement committee to regularly review our plan outcomes, we focus on delivering thoughtful strategies, education and tools that empower employees to make informed decisions and feel confident about their financial future.

PLANSPONSOR: What aspect of your retirement plan offering are you most proud of?

Healthesystems: We are especially proud of our ability to adapt our plan to meet the real-life challenges many in our workforce face. With many employees located in hurricane-prone areas, we recognized the need for accessible financial support during times of crisis.

To address this, we leaned into SECURE [Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement] 2.0 Act provisions to introduce a $1,000 emergency hardship withdrawal and launched an emergency savings account option. These enhancements allow employees to access funds when they need them most without compromising their long-term retirement savings.

Our focus is on creating a plan that is both supportive in the short term and protective of future outcomes—giving employees flexibility and peace of mind during unexpected life events.

PLANSPONSOR: What does winning Plan Sponsor of the Year mean to you and your employer? Will you publicize the win outside of the human resources/benefits team?

Healthesystems: Winning Plan Sponsor of the Year is incredibly meaningful to us because it reflects our commitment to doing what’s right for our employees. Our retirement committee is deliberate and thoughtful in its approach to plan design, ensuring the program is resilient, responsive and well-governed to deliver strong outcomes.

This recognition validates the care and intention behind that work. We have shared the achievement with our executive team and externally, and we plan to continue promoting it across our organization. Beyond celebration, we also view this recognition as an opportunity to strengthen our employer brand and showcase our commitment to employee well-being as a key differentiator in attracting and retaining talent.

PLANSPONSOR: What is one piece of advice you would offer to other plan sponsors aiming to improve employee financial well-being or retirement readiness?

Healthesystems: Start by truly understanding your workforce. Analyzing participant data can help identify where to focus, who may need support and when interventions will have the greatest impact.

From there, prioritize targeted, personalized outreach. Tailoring communications and guidance to specific employee scenarios—such as ensuring participants are receiving the full company match, have beneficiaries in place, or are taking advantage of available tools and resources—can significantly influence behavior.

Small, intentional touchpoints often drive meaningful change. A thoughtful, data-informed approach that meets employees where they are can make a measurable difference in both financial well-being and long-term retirement readiness.