PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2019 - 6

Issue Intro
The Stories We Tell
W
edged into retirement plan industry professionals'
collective consciousness are
certain essential criteria that make for a
INSIGHT ON PLAN DESIGN & INVESTMENT STRATEGY
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2019 | $29 | WWW.PLANSPONSOR.COM
Best in Class 401(k) Plans
2019 Plan Sponsor
Of the Year Finalists
good defined contribution (DC) plan. As industry
professionals, you likely know what many of these criteria
are, based on the plans you administer or those
you see described in pages of this magazine. There
are both the requisite design features-elements that
have evolved to the point where their use may be considered
best practices-and the softer plan features
that have failed to elicit a strict formula. Often, those
plan design elements or criteria are relative, based on
the best a plan sponsor can do given its circumstances. We tell some of these stories
in this issue of PLANSPONSOR.
Our cover story, " Asset Consolidation " (page 22), discusses allowing or maybe
CONSOLIDATION
Facilitating participant roll-ins allows
for a realistic view of retirement savings
encouraging participant roll-ins. It is well-known that account consolidation improves
participants' projected retirement income and prevents cash-outs. Will recordkeepers
facilitate roll-ins by proactively contacting employees, and will handling the
roll-in process become a provider best practice? Participants in plans recordkept by
Empower, which does reach out in this way, rolled about $5 billion into their new
employers' plans last year. If a sponsor wants to aid the process of rolling an employee's
inactive account/s into his new plan, there are several approaches it can consider,
as this story explores.
We also highlight our " 2019 Plan Sponsor of the Year " finalists in this issue
(page 26); all have exceptional retirement plans. We chose these 40 plans out of
nearly 200 nominated for the awards. In reviewing nominations to select the finalists,
the editorial team considers the unique issues each plan sponsor faces in its
particular industry, the best practices in plan design it employs, and the participant
communication challenges it must overcome.
Additionally, we are pleased to announce the fifth " class " of companies receiving
the Best in Class 401(k) Plan designation (page 42). The 34 recipients were selected
from plan sponsors that responded to the 2018 PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution
(DC) Survey. In contrast with our Plan Sponsor of the Year judging, plans were rated
by way of a quantitative proprietary system created by the PLANSPONSOR research
team and key editorial staff. The Best in Class standard includes required criteria
along with design elements for which plan sponsors receive points.
Also in this issue, we checked in with Sarah Newcomb, Ph.D., senior behavioral
scientist at Morningstar, about, among other things, how to help people start
thinking long term about saving for retirement. She says, in " Picture This " (page
60), " One way we can overcome 'short-termism' is to spend some time picturing the
future in fine detail. The more vivid our mental imagery, the better. By picturing
the future in clear and specific terms, we trick our minds into caring more, which
can give us a natural boost of motivation to save. "
As always, the magazine features our regular columnists and departments,
too. We love to hear from our readers and look forward to getting reactions to
PLANSPONSOR articles. Reach out! -Judy Faust Hartnett, Managing Editor
6 PLANSPONSOR.com February - March 2019
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Alison Cooke Mintzer
alison.mintzer@strategic-i.com
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: SooJin Chun Buzelli, svp
soojin.buzelli@strategic-i.com
MANAGING EDITOR: Judy Faust Hartnett
judy.hartnett@strategic-i.com
MANAGING EDITOR, PLANSPONSOR.com:
Rebecca Moore, rebecca.moore@strategic-i.com
EDITORIAL STAFF: Lee Barney, John Manganaro,
Amanda Umpierrez, Karen Wittwer
CONTRIBUTORS: John Keefe, Judy Ward
SURVEYS & RESEARCH: Quinn Keeler,
Brian O'Keefe, Jackie Scott
DESIGN & PRODUCTION: Donna Bien-Aimé,
Clarissa Liu, Joy Liu
DESIGN CONTRIBUTORS: Alanna Jacobs,
Cherese Rambaldi
ART CONTRIBUTORS: Wesley Allsbrook, Chris
Buzelli (cover), Joseph Ciardiello, Jackie
Ferrentino, Suharu Ogawa, Carol Rollo, Blair
Thornley, Jesse Tise, Simone Virgini, Jing Wei
HEAD OF MEDIA SALES: Katie Bacon, vp
katie.bacon@strategic-i.com
ONLINE/DIGITAL PRODUCTS: Paul Zampitella, vp
paul.zampitella@strategic-i.com
ADVERTISING SALES: Bill Murray, Lisa Reilly
SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER: Anthony Groccia
CONFERENCES: Carol Popkins, vp;
Katie Campbell, Rebecca Fahey, Melissa Groccia,
Lucille Velander
GLOBAL CONTROLLER: Younes Ismael-Aguirre
younes.ismael@strategic-i.com
ACCOUNTING OPERATIONS: Abeer Abu-Issa,
Mayrillane Bahi, Ruth Fissaha, Doreen Fucci,
Kristin Keeler, Ricky Kostik, Karen Kurtz,
Vivian Panton, Harris Weinstein
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR: Justin Hoffman
TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS: Stephan Dennis,
Ray Lucibello, Aaron Montecalvo, Bhakti Patel,
Jigar Patel, Dexter Reaves, Stephen Widom
SPONSORED CONTENT & AUDIENCE DATA:
Drew Donaldson, drew.donaldson@strategic-i.com
REPRINTS: Michelle Judkins
203-595-3276 michelle.judkins@strategic-i.com
CORPORATE OFFICES: 1055 Washington Blvd.,
Stamford, CT 06901-2218; 203-595-3200
PLANSPONSOR (ISSN 1077-1816) is published
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CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER: Tony White
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PLANSPONSOR, Vol. 26, Number 6. No part of
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PLANSPONSOR - February/March 2019

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