PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 24

of paper at the meeting to sign up, and they
just have to sign and date it. At the warehouse,
they don't have computers they can
go back to and log in, and many of them
might not have that at home, either. "
The plan also curbs leakage by letting
participants take a loan only in case of
hardship. That's to make clear that the
401(k) is a retirement-savings account and
not a regular savings account, Braun says.
" Because they only allow loans for
hardships, there's really no leakage, " says
the plan's adviser, Joe Connell, director
of retirement plan services at Sikich
Financial in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
" They've had that in place before it
became an industry discussion of, 'We
have to stop leakage.' "
'I'm Doing OK'
The distributing company-whose warehouse
employees' average age is 42, and
whose corporate office employees' average
age is 48-does not target a specific
income-replacement ratio for employees
when they retire. " Everyone is different, "
Draeger says. We have found if they are
able to take care of themselves physically
and economically, they are not forced into
retirement later than they would have
wanted, in most cases. "
Every six months, United Hardware
has Sikich Financial come hold group
education meetings. " These meetings
are mandatory and done during working
hours, so they're paying their employees
to be there, " Connell says. So employees
working different shifts can attend, Sikich
might do six meetings at the warehouse at
varying times and another two meetings
at the corporate office.
" For many workers, retirement
savings terminology and planning calculations
are new. Regular education meetings
are very helpful for them to understand
these ideas, " Connell says. " We've limited
the meetings to 25 minutes, and we focus
on one main topic, such as the Roth 401(k)
feature. It's one simple idea, and usually we
have a one-page handout that employees
can take with them. "
At group meetings, sharing data
that reflects participants' good savings
behavior has motivated employees,
Braun says. Statistics shared at recent
meetings include: 24% of participants
are saving 10% or more, and 91% are on
track to replace 70% or more of their preretirement
income. " Talking about these
statistics helps employees benchmark
themselves against others and gives a
nudge to those who are saving less than
the benchmark to save more, " she says.
Sikich tries to make the meetings fun.
For example, it had custom cards printed
so attendees can play " 401(k) Bingo, " which
is bingo with " 401k " spelled out at the top
of the card. Winners get prizes.
After the group meetings, employees
can sign up for a one-on-one meeting.
Typically, 20 to 25 of the 150 warehouse
employees do so, Connell says. " Many
times, they say, 'I don't even know what to
ask.' So I say, 'Let's pull up your account,
and let me show you a couple of things.' "
They will look at the participant's deferral
rate and discuss it. Connell will explain
the basics of recordkeeper Transamerica's
Your Retirement Outlook personalized
retirement forecast. " For most people,
these are all foreign terms, " he says.
" Explaining them gives people a chance
to feel like, 'I'm doing OK.' " -Judy Ward
Corporate $10mm - $50mm Finalists
Midwest Family Mutual Insurance Co. Des Moines, Iowa
Property/casualty insurer Midwest Family Mutual Insurance Co. has come up with ways
to effectively educate its geographically widespread work force about its 401(k) plan. The
company has employees in 14 states, and most of them work from home. New employees
get individual calls using an online voice, video and web solution; the company holds
monthly online employee meetings where staffers get heads-ups about plan updates; and
the company also holds an online annual retirement-education meeting, utilizing the online
solution. Principal Financial's online tools play a big role in helping participants evaluate
their retirement readiness.
Restek Corporation Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
For the past decade, Restek Corporation has had a KSOP-a single plan combining both
401(k) and ESOP [employee stock ownership plan] elements. This meets the goals for this
maker of tools used to measure the quality of air, water, soil, foods, pharmaceuticals, and
chemical and petroleum products. The company founder wanted employees to have " skin
in the game, " and employees have owned 100% of Restek since 2008. Using company
stock through the ESOP, the employer matches 100% up to 8% of salary an employee
contributes. Restek's board of directors also decides on a variable annual contribution,
in additional company stock. These contributions together traditionally have meant the
employer gives the equivalent of over 10% of pay. The 401(k) is a different investment
vehicle from the ESOP, so investing in both is a good diversification strategy.
Uponor North America Apple Valley, Minnesota
Uponor North America, a manufacturer of piping materials for plumbing and heating
systems, infrastructure and hygienic-water delivery, started evaluating its approach to plan
design and fees more carefully, six years ago. The plan's recordkeeper, Milliman Inc., and
its adviser, SageView Advisory Group LLC, subsequently gave the sponsor ideas to help
it improve on its safe-harbor plan. In the end, the company addressed both plan design
and fees by adding automatic enrollment, implementing fee equalization and moving to
an explicit plan administration fee.
Read the full finalist profiles on plansponsor.com/PSOY2018.
24 PLANSPONSOR.com April-May 2018

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