PLANSPONSOR - October-November 2022 - 40

PLAN PROFILE
Farmers First
S
ince its founding in 1937, Beck's
Hybrids has become the largest
family-owned and -operated
commercial retail seed company in the
U.S., and all along, says the company,
has had a deep passion to help farmers
succeed. Headquartered in Atlanta,
Indiana,
the business has additional
locations in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky,
Minnesota, Nebraska and Ohio.
The eligible participant workforce
is diverse, notes Laura McKee,
benefits specialist with Beck's. A large
proportion of employees are sales staff.
" They're the ones having conversations
with the farmers or supporting the
seed dealer network. " In addition to its
support staff, employees work in the
production, processing and research
departments,
planting,
harvesting,
treating and packaging the seed.
Beck's benefits package for fulltime
workers, as well as part-time or
seasonal workers who clock at least 1,000 hours in a year, offers
access to a 401(k) plan; the employer matches 50% of up to 6% of
earnings. They may also join an active pension plan with sevenyear
graded vesting, starting at 20% after three years of employment,
and a $100,000 cap on the benefit calculation.
" DB plans typically work better when you have more tenure
with the company, and Sonny Beck, the CEO, wants to drive that
loyalty and reward, " says Mike Harpe, Beck's human resources
manager. " He felt he could do that by having this combination of
a pension plan and defined contribution plan. "
Working with adviser Tom Mayer of Shepherd Financial,
SNAPSHOT
PLAN SPONSOR: Beck's Hybrids, Atlanta, Indiana
KEY PLAYER: Laura McKee, benefits specialist
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 865, including part-time/seasonal employees
PLAN TYPES: 401(k) plan, DB plan; TOTAL PLAN ASSETS: $72,689,439
PARTICIPATION RATE: 93.8%; AVERAGE DEFERRAL RATE: 8.2%
Laura McKee, benefits specialist, Beck's Hybrids
This family-run company offers both a DC plan and an active DB plan
employees receive an annual retirement
readiness
statement alongside
their annual pension document. The
statement
is personalized based on
the employee's 401(k) balance, pension
benefit, expected Social Security earnings,
wages and tax withholdings
to provide a visual representation of
whether the individual is on track for
retirement. The statement includes a
contribution suggestion, if applicable,
and indicates the impact that would
make on take-home pay, to guide
employees to a successful retirement.
Beck's incentivizes workers to
sign up for a health savings account
by tying contributions it will make to
improvements in their physical and
financial health achieved through the
company's Personal Health Program.
They may also meet with Beck's staff
health coach, at the home office, and
with a financial adviser, face to face.
" It's our goal that every employee take advantage of our
comprehensive retirement plan, through accessing our Personal
Health Program, our webinar library, on-site meetings, lunch and
learns, and our targeted educational opportunities, " McKee says.
When evaluating the program in 2014, the plan committee
decided to complete a request for proposals to look for a new
recordkeeper. " We recognized how much we had grown, " McKee
says, " and we wanted to stay competitive and a desirable employer.
The process opened our eyes to some improvements we needed to
make to the plan, and ultimately we choose Fidelity Investments. "
A variety of enhancements were made, including the removal
of a $3,000 cap on employer match dollars to the DC plan and
the addition of immediate eligibility and automatic enrollment
for full-time employees. Beck's also began funding match dollars
biweekly rather than annually.
The impact of these changes is evident as Beck's participation
rate is 93.8%, with 865 employees contributing an average
of 8.2%. In 2013, when metrics were last tracked, 275 of 311 total
eligible employees (88.4%) participated. Last year, the committee
approved an automatic escalation program of 1% a year up to 10%.
Harpe credits McKee as being " the gal who drives the
majority of the plan initiatives. " -Judy Faust Hartnett
40 PLANSPONSOR.COM October - November 2022
Art by Chris Buzelli
http://www.PLANSPONSOR.COM
PLANSPONSOR - October-November 2022

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