“Can you just do it for me?”
That is the #1 question I have received over the years. Employees want help in selecting their funds and managing their account. Until now, that was not allowed. Utilizing our 401k in-plan advice solution along with your 401k plan, we can select the investments for your employees, build their portfolio, manage their portfolio on-going, and provide them quarterly report cards projecting how much income they are potentially on-track to receive in retirement.
Today, half of American workers are not ready for retirement, according to the most recent confidence survey published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.¹ Eighty-one percent of employees say they are a little or a lot behind schedule in planning and saving for retirement.
Employees want to know “Can you just do it for me?” Now, the answer is “Yes!“
Sounds good but is it working?
Education helps employees understand their situation, but it has been shown that advice helps them improve upon it.
Studies show that professional investment help can make a difference:
- 70% who received advice doubled their average savings rate (from 5% to 10%) and increased their asset diversification level (from 3.7 to 8 or more asset classes)1
- 92% who received advice stayed the course through the volatile markets of 2008-20091
- The median annual return for employees receiving advice was 2.92% higher on average each year2
- Employees who got help with their retirement plan did better 87% of the time3
- A typical 45-year-old employee in an advice program was projected to have 70% more
savings at retirement3
Let’s discuss how in-plan advice can work for your employees.
Our In-plan Advice Solution is part of our Worksite Financial Solutions which addresses every stage of participants’ working lives. From initial plan entry, asset accumulation, job transitions and into retirement, plan sponsors can add value every step of the way.
Worksite Financial Solutions: Employee Advice
Employees want and need the help of an investment professional, especially as they decide how to invest their 401(k) or similar retirement account. The Employee Advice Solution gives them access to personalized advice, helping them answer important questions, such as:
- How much should I save?
- How can I get out of debt?
- How can I invest my assets wisely?
- When can I retire?
Employees can access advice online, by phone or in person. The advice is unbiased, and provided by experienced professionals. Each participant in the Employee Advice Solution receives retirement progress reports, showing them how they’re doing on the path toward retirement readiness. The progress reports include comparisons between their current status and where they were before, and estimates future income potential based on today’s numbers.
The Employee Advice Solution provides the high-touch service that employees really want. Employees may enroll in the service at their own discretion and cost, so no further expense is added to the plan. You will receive an annual report that shows the progress that employees are making in the plan, with the assurance that you are managing the fiduciary risk associated with providing employee advice.
Next Step: Request time to meet with an advisor
Sources:
In-plan Advice Statistics:
1 The New Rules of Engagement for 401(k) Success, Charles Schwab, June 2010.
2 Help in Defined Contribution Plans: Is it working and for whom? Financial Engines, January 2010. Report assesses the impact of professional investment help, including target-date funds, managed accounts and online advice, during the three-year period between January 1, 2006, and December 30, 2008. It includes analysis of eight large 401(k) plans representing more than 425,000 individual participants with $25 billion in plan assets. All returns reported in this research are net of fees, including fund-specific management and expense fees, and managed account fees where applicable.
3 Help in defined contribution plans: Financial Engines/AON Hewitt Study, 2006 through 2010 (September 2011). Report expands upon January 2010 report referenced in prior citation and assesses the impact of professional investment help, including target-date funds, managed accounts and online advice, during the five-year period between January 1, 2006, and December 30, 2010. All returns reported in this research are net of fees, including fund-specific management and expense fees, and managed-account fees where applicable.
Findings cited in studies do not represent a guarantee of future results. More recent data may alter this assessment.
1 EBRI’s 2012 Retirement Confidence Survey: Job Insecurity, Debt Weigh on Retirement Confidence, Savings
2 Harris Interactive Inc., The 2012 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey
3 Employees of an 8,000-plus employee group who left feedback about the company’s financialwellness program
4 Principal Retire Secure 2010 Participant Survey
5 Principal Retire Secure database statistics of 50,000 one-on-one meetings, as of Q4 2009