PLANSPONSOR - August - September 2022 - 15

the board's efforts to provide access to a
menu of mutual funds that participants
may invest in, as well as a mobile application
and self-service tools they may use to
support their retirement.
How It's Going
When the new platform went live, users
were required to set up a new login, and
many ran into trouble.
Adding to the headache for some
was the discovery upon login that the
new service would reject their beneficiary
information if it could not verify the
designee. Moreover, historical returns
and balance information from the old
recordkeeper failed to transfer to the new
platform, which briefly led some users
to think their account information was
missing or incorrect, Weaver says.
These issues have largely been
resolved, she observes. According to a
briefing provided at the June 28 FRTIB
board meeting, more than 300 new
customer service agents have been added
to support the transition; 1.2 million users
have set up new accounts; and the system
has handled 3.09 million logins.
Erin Carter, who leads the Federal
Benefits Institute for the National
Active and Retired Federal Employees
Association, says it is getting fewer calls
reporting issues with the platform.
Despite these speed bumps, the platform's
usability has improved. Participants
may sign documents electronically and
make electronic deposits and withdrawals,
both impossible before. They may also
move money into mutual funds for the
first time, with the new functionality.
The system will be able to respond
to future changes in retirement rules. In
the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of
2022, Congress is considering updates
that would further extend the age upon
which participants would have to start
taking RMDs, for example. Beyond these
rule changes, the new platform will likely
remain stable for now. Any additions
to the fund offerings would have to be
allowed for legislatively. -Bailey McCann
Treat Health-Care Debt
With Joint Education
THE COST of health care in retirement
is rapidly increasing. Although Medicare
covers many costs after age 65, out-ofpocket
expenses for premiums, deductibles
and copayments can be substantial.
Most retirees pay $170 a month this year
for Medicare Part B premiums, a record
increase over last year.
Similarly, Fidelity's annual " Retiree
Health Care Cost Estimate " found that a
65-year-old couple retiring this year can
expect to spend an average of $315,000 in
health care expenses throughout retirement-even
with Medicare coverage.
Many employees do not consider
those expenses when planning for retirement,
notes Brea Dantin, an adviser with
ProCourse Fiduciary Advisors. Those
who receive one-on-one coaching generally
account for health care spending and
saving, but most others do not, she says.
Employers increasingly help their
workers improve their financial picture,
yet health benefits are often in a separate
silo in a company's human resources
department. Dantin says to let " the retirement
plan adviser and insurance broker get
into the same room with the committees. "
The health and retirement specialists
TIDBIT
Payment Due
100 million Americans are in health-care debt, projected a
survey of 2,375 U.S. adults, where 1,292 owed for medical
and dental services. Rising deductibles contribute to this
trend; 29% of workers paid about $2,000 or more for single
plan coverage last year. The full extent of the debt is
unknown, as many move it to credit cards.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, KFF Health Care Debt Survey
PLANSPONSOR.COM August - September 2022 15
can provide joint education, says Nick
Austin, a benefits consultant with
Intellicents, and points to pre-retirement
joint sessions his firm holds with the benefits
broker. " They'll talk about Medicare,
and we'll talk about Social Security, and we
both weave together what retirement looks
like and how those HSA [health savings
account] dollars interact. "
Another
trend is wage-based cost
sharing-with lower premiums, deductibles
and out-of-pocket maximums for
lower-income employees. Forty percent
of the large employers surveyed this year
by the Business Group on Health offered
wage-based cost sharing, says LuAnn
Heinen, the group's vice president.
Additionally, some employers offer
plan selection tools, using artificial intelligence,
to review employees' claims data
and help them select the best option based
on their expected utilization.
Employers can help employees
make care decisions, especially if they
are paying a larger share of the cost with
a high deductible. And employers can
expand cost-effective resources, such as
virtual mental health benefits, a key area
of focus. -Kimberly Lankford
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