PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024 - 25

CONFERENCE COVERAGE
intelligence-driven wellness " coach " that
answers
participants'
questions
about
personal finance, and it offers free, unlimited
calls with a certified financial planner.
'Give Employees a Say'
Monica De Agostino, director - benefits,
compensation and human resource information
systems at MRIGlobal, a science
research institute and 2022's Plan Sponsor
of the Year, Nonprofit DC, said her organization's
400 employees have various needs.
To help, the institute hosted a financial
education week in August, and about
150 participated. As employees had also
expressed interest in learning more about
medical insurance, the company created a
" Medical Insurance Crash Course " series.
De Agostino noted a " real power " in
pulse surveys and in giving participants a
say in their benefits. In one recent survey,
MRIGlobal listed several benefits options
and told employees it would offer the three
that received the most votes. " When people
have a say, they're more likely to show up
and engage, " she said.
She also said, make sure educational
content is accessible to all. " We have a lot
of smart [employees], but people can be
hesitant to say, 'I don't know about this.' ...
[Use] language that's approachable, inclusive
[and] conversational. " -Remy Samuels
Even before the plan added automatic
enrollment and used automatic escalation,
participation was at 97%. Fry said the
company culture is unique, in the large
number of employees with family who had
worked there, and said workers encourage
each other to enroll.
The plan recently opened eligibility
to part-timers-who now also receive
the match-plus seasonal employees
and interns. Fry said next steps include
looking into lifetime income options-
researching what is available and the cost
of implementation. " We're trying to make
our education program better on financial
wellness in general, " Fry said. " So [for]
whatever product we put into our plan, we
want to make sure it's the best option for
our employees, but then make sure they
can understand it. "
A big concern, she said, is offering an
insured product such as an in-plan annuity
that would cease payment if the owner,
unable to afford a death benefit option
when purchasing the product, died early,
leaving his spouse without the savings.
Implementing Retirement
Income Strategies
I
n " Implementing Retirement Income
Strategies, " plan sponsors on either end
of the spectrum in terms of experience
with income strategies discussed how
they address, or are starting to address,
the retirement income needs of their staff.
May Look Into Lifetime Income
Sarah Fry, vice president, associate
general counsel and assistant secretary at
NACCO Natural Resources, a 2024 Plan
Sponsor of the Year finalist, Corporate
Defined Contribution $500mm - $1b, said
the company's 401(k) plan serves 1,600
employees; 99% participate.
Is Targeting Communication
On the experienced end, Ken Levine, executive
director, global retirement strategy at
RTX, formerly Raytheon Co. and United
Technologies Corp., talked about the
company's guaranteed income product-
RTX Lifetime Income Strategy-a plan
offering for 12 years.
The guaranteed product is the qualified
default
investment
alternative and
functions like a target-date fund but with
a glide path that
increases allocation to
a secure income portfolio, the annuity
portion, as the participant nears retirement.
Levine said the 401(k) plan at RTX-a
2022 Plan Sponsor of the Year finalist,
Corporate DC >$1b-has 215,000 participants
and $59 billion in assets, 13% of
which are in the strategy. For the insurance
portion, participants pay a fee, but they are
told about this up front and that it guarantees
them income for life, he said.
At
retirement-the
person must
separate from the company and be at least
age 60-the participant must activate
the benefit, which can be received over
his life or over his life and his spouse's.
However, Levine said, since the strategy
was launched, fewer than 200 participants
have activated it.
The level of guaranteed income rises
with the employee's age but, after 70,
stops. Levine said it is in participants' best
interest to activate by 70. " We've started
doing more targeted communications to
the population that's over 60 and to former
employees, reminding them about the
benefit. " This is showing results, he said,
adding that RTX may decide to automatically
activate the benefit for those who turn
70 without doing it themselves.
At 15 years from retiring, participants
also are informed that they will start
phasing into the Secure Income Portfolio.
" When we initially introduced Lifetime
Income Strategy, we overcommunicated
it, " he said. " The focus now is meeting
people where they are, at the ... key points
in their journey. "
Good communication aside, he said,
embedding the guaranteed income in the
QDIA is the best way to start people generating
lifetime income for retirement. -RS
Plan Sponsors in
Conversation Speakers
Monica De Agostino,
director - benefits,
compensation and human
resource information
systems, MRIGlobal
Sarah Fry, vice president,
associate general counsel and
assistant secretary,
NACCO Natural Resources
Ken Levine, executive
director, global retirement
strategy, RTX
Lindsay Madaras,
senior manager,
associate well-being,
Bread Financial Holdings
Tamra Miller,
benefits manager,
Ingevity Corp.
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PLANSPONSOR - November/December 2024

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