PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 46

Nonprofit DC Plan >$100mm
Boston Medical Center
B
oston Medical Center (BMC), a
nonprofit teaching hospital in the
Massachusetts capital, understands that
participants need financial and investment
education or advice as they save for retirement,
then enter that phase of life.
" Our retirement plan is just one
component of our retirement participant
success strategy, " says Kerry Ryan, BMC's
director of employee benefits. " We recognize
that retirement planning is a careerlong
process and consider a successful
retirement to be more than an employee
just having a retirement plan account
balance. "
The hospital developed a retirement
readiness resource guide and accompanying
video that supports its efforts to help
its staff save, providing an action plan that
shows them, step by step, what to do in
each stage of their career, to prepare financially
for retirement.
Besides automatic enrollment in the
core 403(b) plan at a 3% deferral rate and
automatic escalation of deferrals of 1% per
year up to 15%, BMC employees are offered
an array of services that address their
unique financial needs. " We want to help
them maximize their earnings so they will
have money to invest toward retirement, "
Ryan says.
For example, BMC partners with
Laurel Road, an online lending service that
consolidates and refinances student loans.
For resident physicians, the company takes
into account future income to improve
their credit rating.
In addition, BMC partners with
the Massachusetts Affordable Housing
Alliance (MAHA), which offers a firsttime
home-buying program. Boston Home
Center, a division of the mayor's office,
educates employees about all available
mortgage programs and helps them strategize
how to get a good rate and qualify for
a lower down-payment. A nonprofit group
helps employees improve their credit score.
" We feel, if employees can get these
things right, they are well on their way to
a successful financial future, " Ryan says.
Much More Than 'Good-bye'
But BMC does not just say goodbye when
employees retire. For starters, near-retirees
are invited to a series of seminars offered
each fall where experts discuss Social
Security and Medicare and how to turn
participant savings into a retirement
income stream. The medical center's
403(b) plan recordkeeper, TIAA, also offers
participants one-on-ones with advisers.
BMC held a five-week retirement
readiness campaign, with seminars and a
booklet noting steps to take in retirement.
Topics included what retirees can do with
their time, including socially, plus how
to replace medical insurance, how Social
Security works and when to start taking it.
46 PLANSPONSOR.com April-May 2018 Art by Chris Buzelli
TOTAL PLAN ASSETS/PARTICIPANTS:
Three 403(b) plans, $921 million/9,346
PARTICIPATION RATE: 83.0%
AVERAGE DEFERRAL RATE: 8.3%
DEFAULT DEFERRAL RATE: 3%
DEFAULT INVESTMENT:
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Funds
AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT: Yes
AUTOMATIC ESCALATION: Yes
EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION: 3% - 8% on 2%,
based on years of service
Further, retirees are told they can
access the same resources that active
participants can. For instance, they are still
eligible to receive distribution and investment
advice on-site or over the phone.
BMC encourages employees to keep
their money in the plan. " Most assume
they have to roll their money out, but it's
best not to do that, for cost savings and
professional management of investments, "
Ryan says, adding that, among participants
who terminated last year, 94% kept
their assets in the plan.
A social worker in the benefits
department helps employees with
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