401k Employee Communication for Increasing Participation
401k Employee Communication should be viewed as an opportunity for improving employee participation levels. Unfortunately, some employers view 401k employee communication meetings as a pure expense of the plan or as necessary non-productive time for an employee. At the conclusion of a recent The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU) program at the University of Denver, located in Denver Colorado, TPSU Founder and CEO, Fred Barstein spoke with Ms. Angela Laymon. Ms. Laymon is Controller at her firm. Ms. Laymon discusses the difference that can be made by including 401k employee communications in tandem with any mandatory meeting the company may hold. The results have shown that doing so increases employee participation across all employee segments. Her experience is that by making 401k employee communication a topic at every mandatory meeting, more employees will participate in the plan; and they will do so at higher contribution levels.
Full Transcript Here
Fred Barstein:
Greetings from Denver, Colorado. This is Fred Barstein, President and CEO of 401kTV and TPSU. We just completed a program at the University of Denver, and I’m here with Angela. Welcome, Angela.
Angela:
Hello. Thank you.
Fred Barstein:
Okay if we ask you a few questions?
Angela:
Absolutely.
Fred Barstein:
Very good. Angela, before we do, tell us a little bit about yourself, the size of the company, your role.
Angela:
I’m currently the Controller for a firm of about 240 employees.
Fred Barstein:
Right. In Denver.
Angela:
In Denver.
Fred Barstein:
Very good. One of the things you mention, it might have been even your previous employer, how you bundled the 401k and the mandatory meetings together. Tell us a little bit about that.
Angela:
To increase education to all of our employees we would take advantage of meetings that were mandatory to our employees such as respirator fit tests or any type of mandatory training that was inclusive of their job. And we would include those retirement plan health benefits meetings with those because it was guaranteed participation.
Fred Barstein:
Right. Right. So what was the effect of that?
Angela:
We had a high turnout. It increased our 401k participation extremely. By having that education out to them, and getting that face time was I think the key piece there.
Fred Barstein:
What did that cost you?
Angela:
Time.
Fred Barstein:
That’s it. Right?
Angela:
That’s it.
Fred Barstein:
No money on that one. Great. Couple of things you picked up that you may want to implement when you get back to the office?
Angela:
I’m definitely going to look at doing some 401k match, and possibly HSA match.
Fred Barstein:
Yeah. Great. An HSA match? That’s great.
Angela:
Yes. Yes.
Fred Barstein:
Very good. Thanks for your time. Thanks for taking the time to be with us on 401kTV.
Angela:
Thank you.
Fred Barstein:
And thank you for watching 401kTV.
