PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 17
PLAN SPONSORS
Honoring the winners in nine categories of plans: five segments of
corporate 401(k); two segments of nonprofit DC; public DC; and TRO
T
he 2018 Plan Sponsor of the Year winners and finalists span
nine categories: five segments of corporate 401(k) plans;
public defined contribution (DC) plans; two segments of
nonprofit DC plans; and total retirement offering (TRO). They
were recognized for their dedication to achieving retirement
security for their plan participants, and for their thoughtful
approaches to getting them there. Winners were announced at
the PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Excellence in Retirement
Awards dinner in March.
Each year, it is difficult for judges to choose not only winners
but finalists from the hundreds of nominations received. The
awesome news is that more plan sponsors are adopting best-inclass
plan designs-e.g., utilizing higher automatic enrollment
default levels and automatic escalation as great as 12%; reducing
the size of the investment lineup; and implementing fee equalization.
They were also quick to embrace emerging trends,
including measuring participant income replacement, providing
holistic financial education, and focusing on retirement plan
drawdown and distributions. Weighing how plan sponsors use
Art by Chris Buzelli
such traditional and emerging best practices to improve participation
and deferral rates, while remaining cognizant of fiduciary
responsibilities, is important in the judging.
Judges also evaluate plan design for unique or innovative
approaches, and consider a plan sponsor's particular challenges.
This year, we recognized sponsors who realized their plans had
issues and turned those around, as well as some who had made
outstanding efforts to improve employees' retirement security
despite difficulties such as high turnover or inaccessibility-
staff being spread over multiple worksites and shifts.
Full profiles of the nine award winners are featured over the
pages that follow.
Finalists in each category are mentioned, with longer
profiles describing the actions they took for their plans and
participants, at www.plansponsor.com/awards/.
We congratulate the winners of this year's Plan Sponsor of
the Year Awards. They demonstrate how plans of all sizes and
types can achieve success-even though standards or metrics of
success may vary. -Rebecca Moore
PLANSPONSOR.com April-May 2018 17
http://www.plansponsor.com/awards/
http://www.PLANSPONSOR.com
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018
2018 Plan Sponsors of the Year
Plan Administration Guide, Part 1
From Strength to Strength
Finding the Best Course
Managed Accounts
Rising Costs
Taking Responsibility
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - FC1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - FC2
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C2
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 2
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 4
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 6
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 8
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 9
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 10
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 11
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 12
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 14
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 2018 Plan Sponsors of the Year
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 18
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 20
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 22
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 24
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 26
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 28
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 30
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 31
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 32
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 33
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 34
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 35
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 36
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 37
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 38
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 39
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 40
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 41
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 42
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 43
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 44
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 45
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 46
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 47
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 48
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 49
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 50
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 51
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 52
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 53
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 54
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 55
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Plan Administration Guide, Part 1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 57
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 58
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 59
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 60
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 61
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 62
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 63
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 64
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 65
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 66
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 67
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - From Strength to Strength
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 69
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 70
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 71
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 72
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 73
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 74
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 75
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 76
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 77
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Finding the Best Course
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 79
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Managed Accounts
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 81
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Rising Costs
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 83
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Taking Responsibility
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 85
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 86
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 87
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 88
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C3
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C4
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/march_april_2024
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/january_february_2024
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/november_december_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/september_october_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/july_august_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/may_june_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/march_april_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2022_february_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_november_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august_september_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june_july_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/excellenceawards_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april_may_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february_march_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2021_january_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_november_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august_september_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june_july_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december-january_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december-january_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2018-january_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2017-january_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/november_december_2017
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_2017
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/september_2017
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com