PLANSPONSOR - February - March 2022 - 11

Perhaps the most important change
in the industry, however, has been the
change to plan sponsors' philosophies,
says Jen DeLong, managing director
and head of defined contribution at
AllianceBernstein.
" From a bigger picture, it's really
this mindset shift that we see [among]
many of the plan sponsors we work with;
they're really beginning to think about
their DC plans not just as savings plans,
but as retirement income plans, " she says.
" Certainly, since the SECURE Act, we see
much more interest from plan sponsors,
consultants and retirement plan advisers
in really understanding the types of solutions
available and [deciding] what they
want their plan's goals to be. "
More Work Ahead
Still, more work remains to be done,
particularly for participants at the decumulation
stage who need retirement
income options, sources say.
" One thing that makes [a DB plan] so
powerful is that it's mandatory, so there's
no participant engagement in that and
there's no selection of the investments
by the participant, " says Eric Stevenson,
president of Nationwide Retirement
Plans. " The other part is, it's very much
focused on the outcome, and I think that's
the part that's probably most attractive;
it's guaranteed that you work so many
years, and, based on that formula, you'll
have so much in retirement. "
DeLong also says the biggest thing
missing in DC plans that is present in
pensions is the certainty of income. DC
plans were originally aimed as supplementary
to pensions and Social Security, so
they typically lack a built-in guarantee.
" As an industry, we helped participants
hear the message about needing to
save as much money as they possibly can
by retirement age, but where we're collectively
all continuing to work is helping
them now think about that nest egg and
how it can be translated into monthly or
annual income throughout retirement, "
she says. -Noah Zuss
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TIDBITS
A Stellar Year for DB Fund Status
" Our models show that funded status
improved by more than 7% over fiscal
year 2021. This was driven by increases
in discount rates as well as strong
returns by equities and other growth
assets during the year. "
Source: Sweta Vaidya, North American head of solution design, Insight Investment
PLANSPONSOR.COM February - March 2022 11
SURVEY SAYS
Juggling Short- and Long-Term
Financial Priorities
Some retirement plan professionals believe employees should
have their day-to-day financial lives in order before they save
for retirement, and others think employees can manage their
personal finances and save for retirement simultaneously.
So we asked NewsDash readers:
Do employees need to have
their day-to-day financial
lives in order, to save for
retirement?
97% No
Do employers have
a responsibility to help
employees get their
financial lives in order?
51% No
29%
Yes
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PLANSPONSOR - February - March 2022

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