PLANSPONSOR - June - July 2022 - 26

BEST PRACTICES | 2022 PLAN SPONSOR OF THE YEAR WINNERS
Nonprofit DC
MRIGlobal
Kansas City, Missouri
E
ach year, the employee benefits committee
for MRIGlobal, a nonprofit scientific
research institute headquartered in
Kansas City, Missouri, does an in-depth review
of one part of the organization's benefits package.
In 2021, it focused on the 403(b) plan.
" This is an opportunity to review the
current best practices ... and to see, are we still
accomplishing our goals for that benefit? "
says Monica De Agostino, MRIGlobal human
resources manager, benefits, compensation and
HR information system.
Last year, the committee worked with its
plan adviser, CBIZ, to that end, benchmarking
its 403(b) plan's design based on comparisons
with national statistics, industry statistics and
local employer best practices.
The 403(b) plan previously had a 50% match
of up to 6% of pay, plus a 1.5% to 6% nonelective
contribution that varied based on an employee's
years of service and age. " There was some confusion
among our employees, " Senior Benefits
Administrator Julia McCullough recalls. " They
understood the concept of a match, but when I
explained the additional employer contribution,
I could see their eyes glazing over. "
" Through that study, it was evident we
needed to make some changes, " De Agostino
agrees.
Besides raising its contribution to 8%, the
employer doubled the default deferral rate to
6% and hiked the automatic escalation cap to
8%, all effective this January 1. Participation
is now 97%, and MRIGlobal plans a re-enrollment,
effective this coming January 1.
According to the monthly breakdown of
key plan data from the plan's recordkeeper,
Empower, the changes have already helped.
This January and February alone, participation
increased from 92% to 97% and the average
contribution, from 9.3% to 9.7%.
The 2021 review identified 16% as the target
combined contribution percentage for adequate
retirement savings. " We said, 'We want to do
26 PLANSPONSOR.COM June - July 2022
this in true partnership with employees,' " says
De Agostino. " So if we contribute 8% and they
contribute 8%, they'll get 16% a year. "
Currently, 65% of the participants defer
8% or more, " which is a good sign, " says
Empower's David Trump, relationship manager
for the MRIGlobal plan. This May, the sponsor
and Empower launched a targeted " Meet Your
Match " communications campaign to reach the
other one-third, he says. Empower sent an email,
or a postcard if necessary, to those participants.
MRIGlobal also recently launched a
contract-exchange project aimed at engaging
participants, both active and separated, who
still have assets at the plan's former recordkeepers
Prudential and TIAA. Those participants
" could be paying higher fees [than at
Empower], or may not have reviewed investment
options in a while, " De Agostino explains.
Active employees may roll
these assets into
their Empower account.
The plan sponsor, Empower and CBIZ
together developed a phased communications
campaign that includes several components:
educational material; a fee-comparison
table that shows investment expenses for plan
menu options at the previous recordkeeper vs.
Empower; and access to speak with Empower
staff to answer participants' questions.
The project's first phase, covering active
participants with assets at Prudential, started
this past December and was scheduled to end
in June. A campaign for separated participants
will start this fall, De Agostino says.
As of late May, 13% of participants who
were contacted had engaged by reviewing
their balance at Prudential or by reaching out
to Empower. (At press time, MRIGlobal lacked
statistics on the percentage who chose to do a
roll-in to Empower.) These participants represent
52% of the plan assets still at Prudential,
De Agostino says. " To date, the eligible population
most engaged has been participants with
balances over $50,000. " -Judy Ward
Monica De Agostino,
Human Resources Manager,
Benefits, Compensation and
HR Information System
" We said, 'We
want to do
this in true
partnership
with employees.'
So if we
contribute
8% and they
contribute
8%, they'll get
16% a year. "
Finalists
CareerSource Central
Florida
Orlando, Florida
Healthcare Financial
Management Association
Westchester, Illinois
The Mitre Corporation
Bedford, Massachusetts
University of Wisconsin
Medical Foundation
Madison, Wisconsin
More on PLANSPONSOR.com/
awards/2022-plan-sponsor-year
http://www.PLANSPONSOR.com/awards/2022-plan-sponsor-year http://www.PLANSPONSOR.com/awards/2022-plan-sponsor-year http://www.PLANSPONSOR.COM
PLANSPONSOR - June - July 2022

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