PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 40

PLAN PROFILE
Picture of Health
A plan sponsor pilots a custom communications program with success
O
ver the past two years,
RWJBarnabas Health, an
academic health care system
and one of New Jersey's largest
private employers, having 34,000
employees, has been working to
build and pilot a digital employee
engagement program.
The initiative was developed
with asset manager Capital Group,
funds from which have appeared on
RWJBarnabas' investment lineup for
16 years. After the merger of RWJ
and Barnabas Health in 2016, Capital
Group helped also merge the multiple
legacy retirement plan designs and
lead the investment re-enrollment
process. To engage plan participants
with their revamped plan, Capital
Group proposed the sponsor test new
ways of communicating. The resulting
MyRetirement pilot kicked off in 2019.
According to Algretta Hatcher,
They observed the behaviors of
each group. " We did a series of written
Q&As with several members of the
groups to understand what employees
think about retirement and what their
aspirations and goals are, " she says.
After the responses were tabulated,
Hatcher says, her department
held in-depth, multi-hour interviews
with about 25 employees, asking
questions such as: What can we give
you regarding retirement planning?
Overall, they wanted information
to be easy to digest, she says. " We
found that nurses might understand
something one way but housekeepers
understand it another. We had to tweak
our conversations, and we learned that
mindset and timing are critical to
receptivity of communications. "
Hatcher says the mobile-first platsenior
director of retirement at
RWJBarnabas, the pilot segmented
employees, as " Motivated Savers, " " Late Bloomers " or " Avoiders, "
then customized the language and messaging the platform
would present and optimized the right " moment of receptivity "
for each segment. " For research purposes, we first looked at
nurses because they're the pulse of our industry; then, at individuals
who make less than $50,000 a year; and third, those close
to retirement. We then decided to go deeper and look at people of
color and lower-income employees, " Hatcher says.
SNAPSHOT
PLAN SPONSOR: RWJBarnabas Health, West Orange, New Jersey
KEY PLAYER: Algretta Hatcher, senior director of retirement
PLANS: Multiple 401(k) and 403(b) plans
TOTAL PLAN ASSETS: $2.6 billion
AVERAGE DEFERRAL RATE: 8.9%
PARTICIPATION RATE: 83.7%
Algretta Hatcher, senior director of retirement,
RWJBarnabas Health
form is easily accessible, with language
made as simple as the employee
prefers. The platform accounts for
the participant's location on the road
to retirement, plus the person's retirement goals and retirementplanning
personality, all determined by a series of questions.
The communication strategy and language become increasingly
attuned to the participant, the more the person engages.
Once on the MyRetirement site, users can go directly to
their recordkeeper to view and make changes. " This received
one of the most positive reactions from participants, " she notes.
" Everything is on one platform. "
Why has an asset manager created an engagement program?
Ralph Haberli, president, institutional retirement at Capital
Group, says, " While the best investment lineup is key, we know
that isn't always enough. We wanted to design a program to work
to motivate employees to save, and bring them into a conversation
about retirement, no matter what their experience with investing. "
The program went live last December and has increased
engagement across the workforce. The rate at which site visitors,
vs. non-visitors, increased their contribution doubled, from 7% to
14%. The number who contributed more this year over 2020 grew
54%. The average increase in contribution, above the starting rate,
for those making a change was 56%. -Judy Faust Hartnett
40 PLANSPONSOR.COM October - November 2021 Art by Chris Buzelli
http://www.PLANSPONSOR.COM

PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021

INSIGHTS
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
RULES & REGULATIONS
UPFRONT
To Attract and Retain
2021 DC Plan Benchmarking Survey
Investment Appraisal
The Evergreen Discussion
Retirement, by Auto-Pilot
FIDUCIARY FORUM A Useful Gauge
INSIDE ANGLE ESG for Fiduciaries
PLAN PROFILE Picture of Health
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Cover1
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Cover2
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 2
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - INSIGHTS
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - RULES & REGULATIONS
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 9
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 10
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 11
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - UPFRONT
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 14
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 16
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - To Attract and Retain
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 20
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 2021 DC Plan Benchmarking Survey
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 24
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 26
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 28
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Investment Appraisal
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 31
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 32
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 33
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - The Evergreen Discussion
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 35
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Retirement, by Auto-Pilot
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - 37
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - FIDUCIARY FORUM A Useful Gauge
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - INSIDE ANGLE ESG for Fiduciaries
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - PLAN PROFILE Picture of Health
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Cover3
PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2021 - Cover4
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