PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2019 - 64

PLAN PROFILE
A Route to Better Outcomes
T
This plan sponsor focuses on participant wellness
ab Haas-Winkelman, executive
director of human resources
(HR) for MGM Studios in
Beverly Hills, California, has worked
half his professional career at MGM,
beginning in 1989.
MGM is known for its " Rocky " and
James Bond franchises. In television, its
titles include " The Handmaid's Tale, "
" Survivor, " " Shark Tank, " " The Voice "
and " The Real Housewives of Beverly
Hills " and " ... of Orange County. "
After experiencing several
management changes at the company,
Haas-Winkelman decided to turn the
retirement plan recordkeeping operation
over to Prudential Retirement.
That organization is extremely clientoriented,
from his perspective, and
able to compete, offering a high level
of service while keeping fees below its
peers' in the retirement space.
Knowing a majority of its employees
amounts. In effect, Haas-Winkelman
notes, " employees were taking loans
[due to] unexpected situations-and if
the participant had a choice would not
pay it back. "
To help alleviate this problem,
Prudential helped MGM rebrand its
after-tax contribution feature as an
in-plan emergency savings solution-
language people could relate to. " It
gives employees another resource to go
to, in case they need money, without
touching their regular retirement
savings. The money comes right out
of their paycheck before it ever goes
home. It's a win-win for all, " according
to Haas-Winkelman.
When MGM launched the emerTab
Haas-Winkelman of MGM Studios
were neglecting to save, MGM saw an opportunity: It would make
plan design offerings such as automatic enrollment and escalation
available. It also began to focus on financial wellness.
" Years ago, financial wellness consisted of giving employees
information on our 401(k) plan and leaving them on their own
to plan for the future, " he says. " In 2017, we began using the
Prudential Pathways program. " The four-part comprehensive
curriculum, which remains very powerful, is an in-person
program that helps employees contemplate their entire financial
future. The program addresses basic financial goals, through their
retirement years. " The tools and links are amazing-even if you
have your financial affairs in order, this is a wonderful checklist. "
For several years, MGM offered participants the capability
to make after-tax contributions to the plan. But this plan feature
had a small adoption rate. There was also a growing awareness
that participants were increasingly taking loans for small dollar
SNAPSHOT
PLAN SPONSOR
MGM Studios
Beverly Hills,
California
KEY PLAYER
Tab Haas-Winkelman,
executive director of
human resources
PLAN
401(k)
gency savings campaign, the company
saw an increase in contributions.
Amy McCarthy, managing
director, key account management
for Prudential, says, " We conducted
additional communications this month [i.e., in August] to
remind participants of this new feature, so we expect to see additional
participation following that campaign. "
As of early August, 54 of the plan's 664 participants were
contributing to emergency savings, an increase of 18 since last fall
when the campaign launched. The total of participant balances in
emergency savings after-tax is $1.1 million, and the average contribution
rate is 7.8%.
The desire to let participants withdraw from their account
once every 12 months, should they have an unforeseen expense,
is what drove this. Employees must pay tax on any earnings from
this withdrawal, and there is a 10% penalty if they are younger
than 59 1/2. But in an emergency situation, this is a small price
to pay, Haas-Winkelman says. On the brighter side, this after-tax
savings can be added to long-term savings if the individual experiences
no unforeseen emergencies. -Judy Faust Hartnett
NUMBER OF
PARTICIPANTS
664 active, 400
terminated/deferred
PARTICIPATION
RATE
91%
PLAN
ASSETS
$84mm
AVERAGE
DEFERRAL RATE
8%
64 PLANSPONSOR.com August - September 2019 Art by Chris Buzelli
http://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2019/TrackLink.action?pageName=64&exitLink=http%3A%2F%2FPLANSPONSOR.com
PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2019
