Employee training Archives - 401k Plan Optimization, Compliance, Investment & Partners

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...

When Should Participant Preferences Shape Retirement Plan Decisions?

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k News, benefit education, Benefits integration, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee Survey, Employee training, employer match, erisa, Fiduciary, financial literacy, Financial Wellness, Retirement plan management, Retirement Plan Participation

Participant feedback can offer valuable insight into what employees want from their retirement benefits. But translating those preferences into plan decisions requires plan sponsors and...

Employees Feel Better About Their Finances, But Employers Are Overestimating How Much

By Fred Barstein / 401k plan, benefit education, Benefits integration, Communication, Convergence, DC Plan Sponsors, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee happiness, Employee training, Employer Contribution, employer match, Financial Wellness, Financial Wellness, Health & Wellness, Healthcare & other benefits, HR, investment, multi-generational workforce, Retirement Income, Retirement Readiness, workplace benefits

Employee financial well-being has reached a four-year high, but employers are more optimistic about their workforce’s financial health than employees themselves. Bank of America’s 2026...

Want to Be a Millionaire? A Fresh Approach to Retirement Savings

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k plan, Adaptability, adult learning, benefit education, benefits committee, Communication, Confidence, DC plans, debt relief, Employee Survey, Employee training, evolving and adapting, financial wellness, Independence planning, innovation, Millennial saving, Millennials Delaying Milestones, Modernize Retirement Plans, multi-generational workforce, Retirement Readiness, Retirement Savings Concern, Student Loan Benefits, student loan debt

One of the biggest challenges facing retirement plan sponsors today is helping younger employees connect with the idea of saving for a future that feels...

Financial Literacy Drops to 10-Year Low as Gen Z Struggles Most

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, Adaptability, AI for Retirement, Authenticity, benefit education, Changing dynamics, Communication, Confidence, DC Plan Sponsors, education, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee training, Fiduciary, Fiduciary Liability, financial literacy, financial stress management, Financial Wellness, Gen X, generational gap in retirement planning, Retirement Readiness

Americans’ financial literacy has fallen to its lowest level since tracking began a decade ago, with younger workers and women showing the widest gaps—and a...

Employers Increasingly Address Student Loan Stress Among Younger Workers

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k News, 401k Trends, benefits committee, Client connection, Creative approach, DC Plan Sponsors, education, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee happiness, Employee training, financial stress management, Financial Wellness, Health & Wellness, Student Loan Debt

As student loan debt continues to weigh heavily on younger generations entering the workforce, employers are increasingly recognizing the impact financial stress can have on...

How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Participant Engagement in Retirement Plans

By Fred Barstein / AI, AI for Retirement, artificial intelligence, automation, benefit education, Benefits integration, DC Plan Sponsors, Employee engagement, Employee happiness, Employee training, Fiduciary, financial literacy, Financial Wellness

Artificial intelligence is poised to fundamentally reshape how plan sponsors engage with participants by enabling more personalized, data-driven interactions at scale. Rather than relying on...

Why HR Can’t Stop at Enrollment When It Comes to Retirement Plans

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Plan Management, 401k Advisor, auto enroll, auto escalate, auto re-enroll, benefit education, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, education, Employee Benefits, Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee training, Fiduciary, Financial Wellness, Financial Wellness, HR, Retirement Readiness, Retirement Savings Concern

For many companies, the work of managing a retirement plan feels complete once employees are enrolled. But Teresa believes that’s only the starting point. As...

One-Size-Fits-All Retirement Education Doesn’t Work

By Fred Barstein / Employee engagement, Employee feedback, Employee happiness, Employee training, Fiduciary Training, Financial Advisors, financial literacy, financial stress management, financial uncertainty, Financial Wellness, Health & Wellness, investment, Millennial saving, Modernize Retirement Plans, multi-generational workforce, office environment, One-on-on consulting, one-size-fits-all, Peer to peer learning

Not every employee walks into a retirement seminar with the same questions. A 24-year-old just starting their career has very different concerns than a 61-year-old...

Why Explaining the Match in Dollars Can Improve Plan Participation

By Fred Barstein / 401(k) Managed Accounts, 401(k) Plan Management, benefit education, CEO Engagement, Communication, DC Plan Sponsors, DC plans, education, Employee engagement, Employee training, employer match, Fiduciary

Presenting the employer match in tangible, easy-to-understand language can significantly improve how employees perceive and value the benefit. When the match is expressed as a...