In a heartwarming story told by the HR Director at a 156 employee Atlanta based not for profit organization attending a TPSU held at the University of Georgia, the wife of an employee recognized the efforts of the HR Director which were key in helping her spouse to retire.
Religiously, every year, the HR Director reminded the employee about the catch-up provision in the 403b plan which allowed him to put in extra savings. Though the employee loved what he did, at 71 he felt it was time to retire which he was able to do because of the reminders he received.
As a result, the wife of the employee sent the HR Director flowers recognizing the personal and extra efforts she made which helped her and her husband to have a better life in retirement.
A personal touch can make a big difference – the Atlanta HR Director keeps a tickler file which she uses to remind all employees about features like catch-up provisions to help her employees. Though the Ideal Plan with automated features like auto-enrollment and auto-escalation have made a huge effort to improve retirement readiness, engagement by HR professionals can also help move the needle.
Though she acknowledged that she is able to provide personal service because her organization is smaller, the HR Director does make the extra effort to help employees.
HR professionals are the key in making the DC system work whether it’s through plan design, hiring the right plan advisors or by engaging employees. They don’t have to be proficient in selecting investments or knowing all the relevant code sections – they just have to care about their employees making the extra effort like the Atlanta based HR director and hiring the right partners who share the same passion for helping people to retire.
