PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2018 - 21

Driving Retirement Readiness:
Meeting the Evolving Needs
Of Plan Participants
Interview with Sandy McCarthy
PARTICIPANT expectations
for their retirement plans
are
constantly evolving as new generations enter the workforce-and
as new technologies and past experiences enable new and better
plan design features. To find out what's changing now and how
employers can respond, PLANSPONSOR spoke recently with
Sandy McCarthy, a 35-year veteran of the financial services industry
who in June was appointed president of retirement services for
OneAmerica®
, an insurance and financial services enterprise with
a history of more than 140 years.
PLANSPONSOR: You have a long history in the retirement
industry. How have you seen it change, and what's catching your
attention today?
Sandy Mccarthy: Over time, the end goal has largely stayed the
same-we all want to ensure successful retirement outcomes. But
there have been changes in at least three areas. One is consumer
demographics and behavior, especially as Millennials have moved
into the workforce and forced us to think harder about how we
connect with them. Another is technology, which has changed
both how we communicate with retirement plan participants and
the products and services we're developing to help them achieve
their goals. Finally, there's the ever-changing regulatory front.
PS: How are consumers behaving differently? Are their expectations
different than they were 10 or 20 years ago?
Mccarthy: Participants today are more focused on information,
and are more capable of honing in on what is meaningful to them.
They're also more focused on their overall financial health. As a
result, we've become much more specific in the way we deliver
content. We're much more focused on customizing information
for individual audiences, even as we look more broadly at helping
them consider their total financial wellness.
PS: What
challenges-or opportunities-do these
changes
present for plan sponsors?
Mccarthy: To the extent they embrace data and technology and
all the new tools now at their disposal, they have a clear opporOneAmerica®
tunity
to drive better retirement outcomes for their employees.
Many of our plan sponsor clients have seen increased participation
and deferral rates, for example, because they took the time to
understand their audience and work with us to design their plans
and communications programs around the concerns, expectations
and characteristics of that audience. When it truly becomes an
extension of the plan sponsor's culture, this approach also can help
with talent retention.
PS: What advice do you have for plan sponsors that want to do
all these things?
Mccarthy: Do business with organizations that are culturally
connected with what's important to you. You want somebody who
understands the needs of the individuals in your plan, and regularly
provides guidance around plan design features and functionality
geared to your employee population. On that score, I'll put in a
plug for OneAmerica, because this is an organization that is truly
customer-focused, both high tech and high touch.
PS: We touched briefly on total financial wellness. What are you
doing to help plan sponsors and their participants with this?
Mccarthy: We've built an array of educational tools and calculators
to help participants improve their financial wellness, and we
also provide access to our concierge service which offers one-onone
guidance from a financial professional.
PS: Retirement income is an area of increasing focus for plan sponsors
and participants alike. How can sponsors help participants
convert their savings into a reliable stream of retirement income?
Mccarthy: There are a variety of income strategies and products
that provide flexibility for plan sponsors and participants
using
time-tested concepts. Our OnePension offering
participants to annuitize their account balance, providing them
with the option of guaranteed income for life. It's flexible enough
that employers can dial their plan contributions up or down based
on their profitability, or any other factor important to them. We
think this can work well for everybody. n
is the marketing name for the companies of OneAmerica.
Products issued and underwritten by American United Life Insurance Company®
Administrative and recordkeeping services provided by McCready and Keene,
(AUL), a OneAmerica company.
Inc. or OneAmerica Retirement
Services LLC, companies of OneAmerica which are not broker/dealers or investment advisors. Provided content is
for overview and informational purposes only and is not intended and should not be relied upon as individualized tax,
legal, fiduciary, or investment advice. Lifetime income is not the only annuity payout option and the individual should
consider with care their specific needs and financial situation prior to annuitizing.
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PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2018

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