What are the Current Trends in retirement planning?

Add a Roth feature. Giving employees the option to put in pre-tax dollars versus post-tax dollars is a feature that might make sense for certain employees. Why not give them the choice?

Auto Enrollment is a feature where employees are automatically signed up for the plan and would have to opt out of the plan if they don't want to participate. It is an excellent way to increase participation. Clearly some thought needs to be put behind what level of salary deferral will be implemented. Often times the best option is to combine with an auto escalate feature.

Auto Escalate When combined with auto enrollment not only enables your employees to participate in the plan immediately, it also increases their deferral amounts incrementally so as not to suddenly interrupt their cash flow, but get them to a level of substantial savings

Smart Phone Apps We live in a world where we want information instantly and sometimes even a computer is too far away to check an account balance or change an investment. One of the keys to a successful plan is employee engagement. Using a vendor with the smart phone app can be a big plus for employee engagement within the plan and thus employee retention.

3(16) Services Section 3(16) of ERISA allows plan sponsors to hire what is called an “Administrator.” In general, ERISA states the plan sponsor takes on the role of Administrator unless there is a third party provider “specifically so designated by the terms of the instrument under which the plan is operated.” This service is usually provided by recordkeepers and TPAs who then handle various reporting and disclosure requirements, including, but not limited to providing summary plan descriptions, 404(a)5 participant disclosures and the annual Form 5500 filing. To the extent the plan sponsor wants to transfer the fiduciary liability to a 3(16) Fiduciary for certain functions, those functions must be specifically delineated in the plan document. A plan review will help you determine if outsourcing 3(16) services is right for you.

Retirement Readiness is a reporting process we can implement to see if your employees are truly saving enough to prepare them for retirement. Participation rates are great and cardboard calculators can be helpful, but wouldn't you really like to know if your employees can retire in their terms?

Onsite Advisor presentations and interactive education Let's "keep it real" here. Most of your employees would choose to watch paint dry rather than sit through a retirement plan education presentation. We understand employee engagement is crucial to a successful plan, so we make our presentations not only interesting, but engaging.