PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 75

recordkeeping firm; in 2006, she returned
to Prudential as a transition manager and
has been client service manager for the
North Carolina Total Retirement Plans
since 2013. Michael McCann, vice president
of key accounts, started at Prudential in
2013, having entered the financial services
industry in 1999; prior to Prudential, he
worked for another recordkeeping company.
Jessica Quimby is a senior manager, client
communications consultant at Prudential;
she has over 17 years of experience in the
financial services industry.
PRUDENTIAL Financial Client Service
Manager Ann Cashman says she has
worked on numerous client transition projects,
but the size, scope and complexity of
the North Carolina (NC) Total Retirement
Plans effort was in a league of its own.
In a process that took about a year,
spread over two, Prudential unbundled all
of the state's 401(k) and 457 plans' investments
and transitioned them to a new
ownership structure and custodian.
According to Catherine Jarboe of the
plans, this required dozens of repapered
contracts, transitions of funds and new
fund management structures. In addition,
this year, the state transitioned its 403(b)
plan to Prudential's recordkeeping service.
But this was just the beginning. As
Prudential is recordkeeper for the three
plans, the team had to communicate the
changes to over 250,000 participants
and to field all inquiries, pre- and posttransition.
" The transition was executed
over year-end holidays with no black-out
for plan member transaction processing, "
Jarboe notes.
During the process, Vice President of
Key Accounts Michael McCann was able
to perform a function he especially enjoys:
working with his clients to develop goals,
carry out strategies and analyze results.
" Client meetings are my favorite forum,
as they allow me to be consultative and
provide value, which deepens relationships, "
he says. " These meetings provide
opportunities to gauge plan success,
discuss areas that need to be addressed,
and explore new plan design or product
features to provide better retirement
outcomes for plan participants. "
Jarboe calls Prudential's service
through these major operational changes
" remarkable. " Service interruptions to
participants was limited, and Prudential's
communications and participant education
efforts are excellent and ongoing, she
says. " Prudential's team members Ann
Cashman, Jessica Quimby and Michael
McCann are 'Best in Class.' "
Service Star Team
VALIC
Nahed Alsous, Alexander Gracia
and Daniel Knox arranged to
meet with all employees of this
24/7 health and hospital system
to demonstrate the importance of
retirement saving
Daniel Knox, senior financial adviser, joined
VALIC in 2002 and the financial adviser
team in 2010; he oversees the team's on-site
and strategic support services.
A HOSPITAL system can have dozens
of locations, with staff working round
the clock-which makes it a challenge
for sponsors to foster retirement saving.
This is true for WakeMed Health &
Hospitals-and why it values the VALIC
team. According to WakeMed's Michael
Jackson, the team successfully undertook
to meet with all of the system's 9,200-plus
employees, where they work and when
available, " through department meetings,
on-site seminars and personal consultations,
every day and night of the week. "
VALIC Financial Planning Adviser
Nahed Alsous feels they performed a
valuable service. " Most are on their feet
all day, and if it weren't for our coming to
them in the hospital, and in their unit or
break room, they might never have had
the chance to meet with anyone to plan for
their retirement. Being here in the hospital
has allowed us to help thousands of people
and families over the last decade, " she says.
Jackson concurs, pointing to the
Alsous
CLIENT: WakeMed
Health &
Hospitals
CLIENT INDUSTRY:
Health care
organization
(not for profit)
CLIENT HEADQUARTERS: Raleigh,
North Carolina
PLAN ASSETS/PARTICIPANTS:
>$500mm-$1b/9,200
Gracia
Knox
10-year sustained increase in plan participation
rates. " The team presents weekly, at
our new hire orientation, to introduce the
403(b) plan and stress the importance of
saving. Its efforts have pushed our participation
rates up 11% in the past four years.
Eleven percent means nearly 1,000 more
employees are saving for retirement than
before VALIC's efforts. "
While the VALIC adviser team
BIOS: Nahed Alsous, a financial planning
adviser, joined VALIC in 2003; she has
worked closely with WakeMed since 2007,
when VALIC was named its exclusive plan
provider. Alexander Gracia, a financial
adviser, has worked in the financial services
industry his entire career, joining VALIC
in 2005; he was one of the original advisers
assigned to service WakeMed 11 years ago.
connects with all new hires, it spent
months contacting current staff yet to
enroll in the plan. " We wanted to make
sure all employees understood their
options, " says Daniel Knox, a senior financial
adviser. VALIC, therefore, is proactive
about offering education and one-onone
guidance, he says. " We believe every
American deserves a fulfilling retirement,
and we'll do everything we can to
make that happen. " -Judy Faust Hartnett
and Karen Wittwer
PLANSPONSOR.com April-May 2018 75
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