PLANSPONSOR - July - August 2023 - 26

AWARDS | 2023 PLAN SPONSOR OF THE YEAR WINNERS
Corporate DC >$250mm - $1b
American Fidelity Companies
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
the 'Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For'
list 15 times, " she says.
A more concrete benefit is the defined
in this
contribution plan, a key retention tool
competitive labor market, she says. She partially
credits the match rate-6% or higher, based on
the affiliate company-and discretionary profit
sharing, typically 1.5%.
At American Fidelity Assurance Co.,
the
Thayla Bohn, senior vice president corporate and
human resources
Plan Snapshot
PLAN TYPE AND SIZE: 401(k), defined benefit,
nonqualified deferred compensation; $650mm
PARTICIPANTS AND PARTICIPATION RATE: 4,300; 98.2%
DEFERRAL RATE: 3% default; 9.4% average
EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION: Varies by affiliate
" WHAT TYPES of benefit programs do you
offer your employees if they're in the business
of providing world-class benefits? " says
Thayla Bohn, senior vice president corporate
and human resources at American Fidelity
Companies, referring to the companies' staff.
" It's not easy to impress this group! "
American Fidelity Companies is a fourgeneration
family-owned insurance company
and supplemental benefits provider headquartered
in Oklahoma City. " It's passionate about
creating a work environment conducive to
growth and excellence, " Bohn says. For example,
employees are called " colleagues, " to convey
that " they're part of the corporate family, " she
says. And they are paid once a year to volunteer,
on company time, with those earnings going to
the charity. " It's no surprise [we've appeared] on
26 PLANSPONSOR.COM July - August 2023
largest of the company's 28 entities, for example,
the match maxes out at 8% for a 10% contribution,
says Linda Mikolajczak, a senior relationship
director at Principal Financial Group, the
plan's recordkeeper. Colleagues stay at American
Fidelity Assurance an average 10 years.
With the difficult economy, the sponsor
wanted to strengthen the plan more. The result
was a three-part strategy, Bohn says. First, with
the help of adviser Cerity Partners, it streamlined
the 401(k) investment lineup, consolidating
similar investments and removing
unpopular ones. " This lowered overall expense
ratios from 25 bps to 10 bps, " Bohn says. The
sponsor also outsourced plan administration
to Principal,
availing participants of tools,
resources and the ability to track their plan
accounts' progress, she says. " Within the past
year, over 90% of participants have checked out
the web and mobile tools. " Last year, Principal's
call center and Cerity's financial help desk were
made available too.
Second, the sponsor implemented an
annual " back sweep " of those saving under the
deferral rate and automatically escalated savers
1% a year, up to the new cap of 10%, from 6%,
barring opt out. Participation increased from
95.6% as of a year ago March 31 to 98.2%.
To improve financial wellness, the third
goal, the sponsor surveyed colleagues, learning
they wanted education about investing and how
to save and plan for retirement. The sponsor
and Principal then partnered to create targeted
financial wellness campaigns, live webinars
and communications. " Colleagues were highly
engaged, " Bohn says. -Paul Mulholland
Finalists
Equity Residential
Chicago, Illinois
Hines Interests, LP
Houston, Texas
LiveRamp, Inc.
San Francisco, California
More on PLANSPONSOR.com/
awards/2023psoy
" Participation
has increased
from 95.6%,
as of a year
ago March 31,
to 98.2%. "
http://www.PLANSPONSOR.com//awards/2023psoy http://www.PLANSPONSOR.com//awards/2023psoy http://www.PLANSPONSOR.COM
PLANSPONSOR - July - August 2023

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