PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 42
WELLNESS STRATEGIES
The Employer Component
T
o employers, financial wellness is
becoming a common theme-moving
beyond wellness programs and
into voluntary benefits.
Many companies have, for a while,
been improving their employees' personal
finances by contributing to retirement
and other benefit plans. They can do
more, though, if they recognize, and put
to use, further options they have available.
" It's very rare to have silver bullets,
but we've been blessed in the DC [defined
contribution] world to have a few, " says
Jerry Patterson, senior vice president
of retirement and income solutions at
Principal Financial in Des Moines, Iowa.
Two such silver bullets-proven by the
quantities of data and experience behind
them-for aiding financial health are
automatic enrollment at the default
deferral rate of the full employer match,
and the employer stretch match, he says.
When a plan sponsor auto-enrolls participants,
89% to 90% stay with the default
deferral rate until it reaches around 8%,
Patterson says. Providing an employer
match attracts employees to save in
a retirement plan and increases their
savings; the greater the match, the more
financial security participants can build.
Robyn Credico, managing director
of retirement at Willis Towers Watson in
Arlington, Virginia, notes that when it
comes to making employer contributions
to the retirement plan, budget constraints
and market competitiveness can greatly
influence the decisions. For example, she
says, a plan sponsor may be concerned
about giving contributions to employees
who are expected to stay only a short while.
Or some employers may choose a lower
match rate that they can afford.
42 PLANSPONSOR.COM December 2019 - January 2020 Art by Haleigh Mun
Sponsors have various options for contributing to employee wellness
However, employers can increase
employees' savings through matching
contributions without adding to their
own cost-i.e., by stretching the match.
For example, a plan sponsor that matches
100% up to 4% of employee deferrals can
revise the match so it is 50% up to 8% of
employee deferrals. Because employees
do not want to give up " free " money, this
formula encourages them to save more.
" When employees are educated
about the employer match, it encourages
them to save, " Patterson says. To sponsors
concerned that some employees will
be unable to save enough to get the full
match, he says to not let that hold back
their entire workforce.
Discretionary Contributions
A discretionary contribution is one for
which the plan sponsor may choose a
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PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020
The Savings Hierarchy
2019 PLANSPONSOR Best in Class DC Providers
On Their Own Terms
HSA Investment Options
Steady as It Goes
The Employer Component
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - Cover1
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - Cover2
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 2
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 4
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 6
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 8
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 9
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 10
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 11
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 12
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - The Savings Hierarchy
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 16
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 2019 PLANSPONSOR Best in Class DC Providers
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 20
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 22
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 24
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 26
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 28
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 30
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 31
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - On Their Own Terms
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 33
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 34
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 35
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 36
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 37
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - HSA Investment Options
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 39
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - Steady as It Goes
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 41
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - The Employer Component
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 43
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 44
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 45
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 46
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 47
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - 48
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - Cover3
PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2020 - Cover4
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