PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 48

challenges such as job stress or family
problems. Retirees may continue to use
this service if they want help adjusting to
their new lifestyle or with other issues.
" We have the mindset that every
participant is unique, and we try to address
each one's needs, " Ryan says.
She observes that hospital staff,
besides being in a wide range of job roles,
is at varying levels of education, financial
literacy and age. This is why the university
uses very targeted education based
on where employees are in their careers
and how close they are to retirement. " We
don't believe people receive information
the same way or have the ability to understand
in the same way, " Ryan says. " For
example, we provide education to nurses
in a different way than to service staff. "
Moreover, not all employees have
the luxury of taking time from their job
responsibilities to attend group meetings
or lunch-and-learns, so BMC offers what
it calls " huddles, " for which it goes to
different hospital floors or departments
and has a 10- to 15-minute discussion
targeting a specific topic.
Besides the resource guide on retirement
readiness, BMC offers a series on
topics such as home buying and saving
for a child's education. Each month, a
different theme is rolled out on the hospital's
intranet or in the departments. Guides
may be available on a table outside the cafeteria
or at a BMC benefits fair; managers
may receive them to pass on to employees.
" They are bite-sized pieces, so employees
don't feel overwhelmed, " Ryan says.
Brad Cote, relationship manager at
TIAA, points to other benefit offerings
including special savings and checking
accounts; an institutional 529 plan with
direct payroll deduction; education that
helps build and sustain strong credit
scores; and free tax preparation services
by employee and community volunteers at
the workplace. Cote also describes a robust
employee wellness program.
In addition, Ryan and her staff do a
campaign during National Nurses Week
and are actively building out a benefit
48 PLANSPONSOR.com April-May 2018
curriculum, specific to the resident physicians,
and an executive onboarding service.
According to Ryan, BMC gets ideas
for program topics from information it has
about employees on its human resources
(HR) application system. Yet, when it comes
to whether employees are saving enough to
be on the path to retirement readiness, the
recordkeeper plays an important part.
Targeting the 'Red's
TIAA measures income replacement rates,
drilling down to specific participants. Each
is given a red, yellow or green rating, and,
for its targeted education, BMC focuses
mainly on those ranked as red. The retirement
readiness measurement is based on
whether participants are on track to replace
80% of income in retirement, including
their estimated Social Security income.
" We have 90% of participants in the plan
on track, " Ryan says.
BMC also practices good plan governance.
Aon Hewitt, its plan adviser, offers a
quarterly investment review and monitors
investments, fees and fund selection. Other
services it provides are plan benchmarking
and informing BMC of best practices and
regulatory and legislative updates.
BMC is an entity formed by mergers,
so, aside from its core 403(b) plan, it has
a grandfathered 403(b) plan and a supplemental
403(b). The plans are governed by
a retirement committee that reports to an
audit committee.
This year, the hospital intends to
consolidate the plans and implement
fee leveling. In the early 1990s, before
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations
were passed, BMC shifted from individual
annuities in the plans to group annuities.
" When we chose TIAA as recordkeeper, we
selected its Retirement Choice account, so
we already addressed the issues with individual
annuities, " Ryan says. " All contracts
are group-based. For this reason it will not
be difficult for BMC to use the IRS's new
prototype 403(b) plan document. "
" The actions Kerry takes, and the
services she asks for, consistently demonstrate
she cares about her fellow Boston
Medical Center employees' retirement
readiness and is always looking to improve
outcomes, " Cote says. -Rebecca Moore
Nonprofit DC >$100mm Finalists
Northwell Health Lake Success, New York
Even though the staff at Northwell Health is enrolled in an active defined benefit (DB) plan,
the 403(b) plan for this 21-hospital health care system has a 95% participation rate. The plan
sponsor attributes this to education and showing employees how small steps can add up.
The CEO attends the first day of orientation for new hires, where the 403(b) plan is stressed.
Another small step the company stresses is how the automatic increase inches up by 1% each
year, which also makes it something the health system can budget for. Eighty-four percent
of employees now have a positive retirement forecast and are on track to replace 80% of
pre-retirement income.
TriHealth Cincinnati, Ohio
The TriHealth integrated health system has five hospitals, including two tertiary facilities,
plus more than 130 sites of care. The benefits team evaluated its retirement programs
and decided that participants needed more plan options. The result was to transition
from a defined benefit (DB) plan with a supplementary 403(b) plan to a defined contribution
(DC)-based program-a 401(k) plan that uses automatic enrollment. The team's next
mission was to ensure participants would recognize when they were retirement ready
without just guessing. In 2016, TriHealth changed recordkeepers, looking for a one-stop
portal that would allow participants an easy view of benefits across the retirement program.
Read the full finalist profiles on plansponsor.com/PSOY2018.

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