Communication Archives - 401k Plan Optimization, Compliance, Investment & Partners

A More Engaged 401(k) Committee Starts With New Voices

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, benefits committee, Committees, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, Employee feedback, Employee happiness, Fiduciary, Financial Wellness, Plan design, Retirement Committee, Retirement Plan Committee

A retirement plan committee helps guide decisions that affect employees’ savings and financial futures. But when the same people serve year after year, discussions can...

Retirement Plan Advisors Face Growing Expectations as Plan Complexity Increases

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) advisor trust, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Trends, Benchmarking & Monitoring Fees & Partners, Client connection, Communication, DC plans, employee outcomes, fees, Financial planning, Financial Wellness, Investments, Plan design, Retirement Plan Advisor

As retirement plans become more complex and employees look for more financial guidance, plan sponsors are expecting more from their retirement plan advisors. In a...

Vanguard: Small 401(k) Plans Show Strong Savings Habits, With Room to Improve Access

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Participant Education, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, auto enroll, auto re-enroll, Benchmarking & Monitoring Fees & Partners, Communication, Company Contributions and Vesting, DC Plan Sponsors, Employee Benefits, Financial Advice, Financial Wellness, Participant data, Savings Habits, Savings Rates, Small Balance Retirement Acccount, small business, Small business retirement plans, Target Date Funds

Small businesses employ nearly half of all private-sector workers and represent the vast majority of employers offering defined contribution retirement plans. New Vanguard data suggests...

The Road to Wealth and Retirement Convergence Still Has Roadblocks

By Fred Barstein / 401k Advisor, 401k plan, adult learning, Advisors and Record Keepers Collaborating, AI, AI for Retirement, artificial intelligence, Communication, Consolidation, Convergence, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Digital Tools, Employee Benefits, Financial Wellness, Retirement Readiness, Wealth Advisor

The retirement and wealth worlds are moving closer together but getting them fully connected is proving easier said than done. The opportunity is clear. As...

Making 401(k) Education Simple, Visual and Actionable

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Participant Education, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, adult learning, benefit education, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, Digital Tools, Education, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, employer match, Fiduciary, Financial Wellness, multi-generational workforce, Retirement Plan Fiduciary, Retirement Readiness

For participant education to work, employees first have to pay attention. And sometimes, four minutes is all you need. Following a recent TPSU program at...

Making Retirement Real: Helping Participants Budget for the Future

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Trends, benefits committee, Benefits integration, Communication, Confidence, DC plans, education, Employee feedback, Employee happiness, Fiduciary, Financial planning, Financial Wellness, participation

Saving for retirement can feel abstract, especially when participants haven’t considered what their life after work might actually cost. Following a recent TPSU program at...

Meeting Participants Where They Are: Making 401(k) Education Click

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, 401k plan, adult learning, Authenticity, benefit education, Client connection, collaboration, Communication, Confidence, DC plans, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee happiness, Employee training, Financial Advice, financial wellness, Retirement Readiness

For many employees, understanding a 401(k) starts with a basic question: How does this actually work? It’s a question John Poole, Director of Participant Engagement...

Small Plans, Big Shift: Who’s Built for the Next Retirement Market?

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, Client connection, Communication, Convergence, DC Plan Sponsors, Employee engagement, Financial Wellness, Recordkeeping, Retirement Advisor Specialist, Retirement plan management, Retirement planning, Small Balance Retirement Acccount, small business, Small business retirement plans, workplace benefits

Small businesses and gig workers are opening a new lane in workplace retirement savings, but much of the industry is still driving with an old...

Making Retirement Plan Complexity Easier to Understand

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, AI for Retirement, benefit education, benefits committee, Client connection, Communication, education, Employee engagement, Employee happiness, Fiduciary Training, Financial Wellness, Participant Retirement Outcomes Financial Visualization, payroll integration

Plan sponsors face an increasingly complex retirement plan environment, from evolving legislation and compliance requirements to fiduciary responsibilities and plan design decisions. For many, the...

Why Personalized Retirement Education Matters for Employees

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Trends, adult learning, benefit education, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, education, Employee engagement, Fiduciary, Financial Literacy, Financial Wellness, Healthcare & other benefits, Plan Participation, Retirement Readiness, workplace benefits

Personalized Retirement Education For Employees

A 401(k) statement can feel like a foreign language — market jargon, fund names, percentages that seem to shift for no reason. For many employees,...