Employee engagement continues to be one of the most persistent challenges facing retirement plan sponsors, particularly as employees juggle retirement savings alongside healthcare costs and other financial priorities. At a recent The Plan Sponsor University program at the University of Hartford, that broader financial picture became an important part of the conversation around how employers can better support and engage their workforce.
Following the program, Fred Barstein, founder and CEO of 401(k)TV and TPSU, spoke with adjunct lecturer Lisa Buffington, Senior Retirement Plan Advisor with Marsh McLennan Agency, about what she is seeing work with plan sponsors and their employees.
When Barstein asked how plan sponsors can improve employee engagement, Buffington emphasized the importance of looking beyond retirement savings alone. She described an approach centered on “education for all,” with guidance that considers an employee’s entire financial life. Employees may want to save more for retirement, but competing priorities, including healthcare expenses, can make that difficult.
Read the Full Transcript Here:
Fred Barstein: Greetings. This is Fred Barstein, CEO and founder of 401(k)TV and The Plan Sponsor University, where we just completed a program at the University of Hartford. I’m here with our adjunct lecturer, Lisa Buffington. Welcome, Lisa.
Lisa Buffington: Hey, great to be here, Fred.
Fred: We’re going to ask you a few questions.
Lisa: Please do.
Fred: Before we do, tell us a little about you, your firm, and your role there.
Lisa: Happy to. I’m Lisa Buffington. I’m a Senior Retirement Plan Advisor based out of Marsh McLennan Agency’s New England and Northeast regional offices. I also have a role within the organization’s retirement and wealth practice as the market and brand leader.
Fred: Great. One of the questions we received, which we hear a lot from plan sponsors, is: “How do I engage my employees?” It’s the $10,000 question, right?
I thought you had some good answers. What are two or three things that you’ve found have worked to engage employees?
Lisa: It certainly was one of the hottest topics we covered today with all of our attendees.
From Marsh McLennan Agency’s service model, we have a very robust and proactive approach to supporting our clients’ employees. Our philosophy really is education for all.
When we talk to plan sponsors about enhancing their employee education and engagement strategies, we encourage them to think about education, guidance, and advice that is not just specific to retirement planning and retirement savings, but to an individual’s entire financial life.
We spent a lot of time today talking about the fact that employees sometimes find themselves unable to save as much as they would like for retirement because they have other priorities in their financial lives where they’re also looking for guidance and support.
Healthcare is one example.
Healthcare was a significant part of today’s discussion. We talked about healthcare being one of the leading expenses employers have to solve for, and it can be a major expense for employees as well.
Fred: Final question. What do you think a plan sponsor gets out of coming to a TPSU program?
Lisa: First of all, thank you and TPSU for all the work you do to make these types of programs available.
We talked a lot today about the fact that ERISA lays out what a plan sponsor’s role should be as a fiduciary, but it does not provide fiduciary training for plan sponsors.
Plan sponsors therefore have an opportunity to seek out that training and guidance from experts who work with plan sponsors on a day-to-day basis.
That allows us to share best practices and things they should consider as they evolve their fiduciary governance processes and support their roles as plan fiduciaries.
Secondly, another very valuable benefit is that plan sponsors get to talk to each other.
They’re sharing their war stories and successes, including what is working within their organizations and what is not.
We had some very honest conversations about opportunities they could consider and how the providers and partners supporting them could help.
Fred: Great. Thank you for your first TPSU program and for being a lecturer.
Lisa: It won’t be our last.
Fred: That’s great to hear. Thank you.
And thank you for watching 401(k)TV. Please stay tuned.
