PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2020 - 35

AWARDS 2020 PLAN SPONSOR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Denise Zapf, Benefits Director,
McGuireWoods LLP
Michael Sanford, Retirement
Manager, Americas, Refinitiv
US LLC
April Bettencourt, Senior Director,
Global Employee Benefits, Vision
Service Plan
Lavina Mehta, Retirement Plans
Manager, Bechtel Global Corp.
McGuireWoods LLP
Richmond, Virginia
PLAN: 401(k). PLAN ASSETS: $827mm. PARTICIPANTS: 3,067. PARTICIPATION
RATE: 91.6%. AVERAGE DEFERRAL RATE: 8.6%. EMPLOYER
CONTRIBUTION: 25% of the first $4,000, plus possible profit sharing.
RECORDKEEPER: T. Rowe Price. ADVISER: Ellwood Associates.
Legal firm McGuireWoods LLP was an early adopter of
automatic solutions for its 401(k) plan. Employees who opt out
of the plan are re-enrolled every year, and those saving below
4% get " auto-boost " ed to that deferral rate. When the firm
hired Ellwood Associates as its adviser last year, it renegotiated
pricing and switched to fee leveling to increase transparency for
participants. The sponsor simplified the investment menu by
reducing the number of options and adding lower-cost trusts.
To help employees save more, the firm uses an online financial
wellness program through Dave Ramsey's SmartDollar.
McGuireWoods offers employees the opportunity to refinance
their student loans, and, when they make monthly payments
on time, they receive a bonus to pay toward the principal. -CH
Refinitiv US LLC
New York, New York
PLAN: 401(k). PLAN ASSETS: $938mm. PARTICIPANTS: 3,860. PARTICIPATION
RATE: 96%. Average Deferral Rate: 11.7%. EMPLOYER
CONTRIBUTION: 100% of 4%. RECORDKEEPER: Voya Financial.
ADVISER: Rocaton Investment Advisors.
With 54% of Refinitiv US LLC's employee population over age
50, this global provider of financial markets data focuses on
preparing its workforce for retirement. Through provider Voya
Financial, the Refinitiv 401(k) Savings Plan offers Retirement
Income Plus, a program for pre-retirees that gives a snapshot
of a person's retirement readiness, plus financial wellness
resources. The sponsor has also instituted a communication
campaign targeting nonparticipants and those deferring
less than 4%. The program consists of emails, postcards and
webinars that encourage employees to save. As to investments,
the fiduciary committee has begun evaluating possible environmental,
social and governance candidates to add to its current
13 investment options. -CH
Vision Service Plan
Rancho Cordova, California
PLAN: 401(k). PLAN ASSETS: $976.3mm. PARTICIPANTS: 6,536.
PARTICIPATION RATE: 96%. AVERAGE DEFERRAL RATE: 7.7%.
EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION: 100% of 5%, plus possible profit sharing.
RECORDKEEPER: Prudential. ADVISER: Retirement Benefits Group.
With more than 6,500 participants across multiple locations, and
with many of those workers not at a computer, Vision Service
Plan (VSP) has a multichannel education strategy, says April
Bettencourt, senior director, global employee benefits. Both
Vision's recordkeeper and adviser conduct regular, on-site group
and one-on-one educational meetings. The plan has worked to
lower its fees, with its lineup comprising some of the lowest-cost
collective investment trust index funds available. VSP's active
and retired employees receive a yearly, customized retirement
readiness report, which includes plan-specific information on
the person's engagement in the retirement plan. -CH
Corporate 401(k) >$1b
Bechtel Global Corp.
Glendale, Arizona
PLAN: 401(k). PLAN ASSETS: $5.6b. PARTICIPANTS: 16,789. PARTICIPATION
RATE: 88%. AVERAGE DEFERRAL RATE: 10.6%.
EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION:
100% of 6%, plus profit
RECORDKEEPER: Empower Retirement. ADVISER: Rocaton
Investment Advisors.
" As we did a deep dive of our employee demographics, we
found we had a lot of mid-career hires, " says Retirement Plans
Manager Lavina Mehta of Bechtel Global Corp.'s engineering,
construction and project-management workers. The 401(k)
plan moved to managed accounts as its qualified default
investment alternative using the Empower Retirement Professional
Management program. Currently, 70% of participants
are invested in the managed accounts. Last year, Bechtel did an
educational campaign for pre-retirees. It targeted the 50-plus
age group, offering a " retirement-readiness checkup " call with
Empower. " Sixty-six percent of those who participated took
positive actions during or after the call, " Mehta says. -JW
PLANSPONSOR.COM April - May 2020 35
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PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2020

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