PLANSPONSOR Weekend Newsdash
Week ending July 13th, 2018
Participant education can be delivered through required communications, such as fee disclosures, and plan sponsor-chosen communications, such as financial wellness programs. The fact is, participant communications is key to helping them understand their retirement plans and making the right decisions. Retirement plan sponsors need to know what elements of communication are needed by plan participants, even those who are retiring. And, failure to provide fee disclosures can result in participant regret and/or legal issues for plan sponsors. This week’s edition of PLANSPONSOR Weekend focuses on participant communications and financial wellness. Have a great weekend!
Editor's choice
Products
Retirement Plans Must Be Paired With Educational Programs
Merely offering a retirement plan is not enough if plan sponsors want their participants to fully embrace it, according to a report from Arnerich Massena, Inc., “Retirement Plan Best Practices: Participant Education.”Read more >
Participants
Cerulli: Participants Are ‘Generally Clueless’ About DC Plan Decumulation
A new Cerulli Associates survey suggests that at least half of 401(k) plan participants have no idea what to do with the savings they have diligently set aside for retirement.Read more >
Data and Research
Financial Wellness Programs May Not Be Right for All Companies
Just over half of employers are familiar with the topics that a financial wellness program should cover, Strategic Benefit Services learned in a survey of employers conducted in February. While they are growing in popularity, financial wellness programs may not be the right fit for all companies, the provider of retirement services to health care and other not-for-profit organizations says. A logical starting point would be for an organization to survey its employees and assess the need.Read more >
Products
Employees Often Overlook Value of Equity Compensation
“Companies offer equity awards to attract and reward top talent, but participants don’t always recognize the value,” Head of UBS Equity Plan Advisory Services Michael Barry says. “In our surveys and research, we discovered that when employers follow certain steps and build their programs in specific ways, their employees appreciate their awards a lot more.”Read more >
Compliance
K-12 403(b) Plan Sponsors Have New Fiduciary Duties Under Conn. Law
A new Connecticut law requires K-12 403(b) plan sponsors to disclose the fee ratio and returns, net of fees, for each investment offered to participants. The state decided to pass the law after Connecticut teachers regretted investing in certain products without being informed of fees and other charges.Read more >
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