PLANSPONSOR - October-November 2022 - 11

high-quality programs is that it's easier
to get people to engage if you offer them
current and [also] future solutions, " he
says. " For example, emergency savings
funds that can be used anytime free
people up to start thinking about the
future. Or having a student-debt-payoff
matching program can free up dollars to
go into a retirement fund. "
John stresses that participants of all
ages want all information to come from
unbiased sources. " There are big trust
gaps everywhere, " he says. " Plan sponsors
really have to think critically about who's
giving the information and what it says. "
He notes that some European plans
have had success with providing information
through user dashboards, which
can help spur participants to do more
research or reach out to the plan or its
adviser for more customized services.
TIDBITS
Gold Watches Waiting
Private-sector
plan sponsors are
6 percentage points
more concerned,
at 67%, than last
year that workers
are putting off
retiring, a survey
found. It asked
which of the
following had
sponsors seen in
their workforce
when potential
retirees didn't leave.*

When workers fail to retire, plan sponsors say they've seen this ...
36%
Limit hiring of new talent
Increase health and benefit plan costs
Keep salaries higher
Limit promoting of younger talent
Hurt team morale
Cause workers' mental health to suffer
Lessen productivity
Cause workers' physical health to suffer
Haven't noticed any of these
35%
34%
34%
30%
29%
27%
22%
10%
No delayed/cancelled retirements in workforce 7%
Source: Nationwide, " Nationwide In Plan Sponsor: Survey Report "
*Percentages were higher when government plan sponsors were surveyed.
 7 ppts
 7 ppts
 6 ppts
 7 ppts
 11 ppts
 7 ppts
 5 ppts
 12 ppts
2021 comparisons
" There are big trust gaps everywhere.
Plan sponsors really have to
think critically about who's giving
the information and what it says. "
Some U.S. recordkeepers are also
rethinking how information appears
on their retirement platform. Empower
Retirement, for one, recently updated its
onboarding experience to guide participants
through a process designed to get
more information and provide them with
a customized experience.
" We're working with our plan sponsors
to craft messages that are targeted
and have a clear call to action, " says
Claudia Step, senior vice president and
chief customer experience officer at
Empower. " We're focused on having very
customized messaging that's relevant to
their broader financial plan. "
Research on target-date funds from
Morningstar suggests that, when participants
are put on the same glide path
regardless of age, wages, goals, etc., they
could end up working longer to cover gaps
in their retirement savings.
Automatically setting up financial
counseling at certain ages might help
people course-correct, John says.
-Bailey McCann
PLANSPONSOR.COM October - November 2022 11
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