When a company has a growing segment of employees approaching retirement age, it should proactively shift from simply “offering” a retirement plan to actively supporting retirement readiness. That starts with identifying the pre-retirement population and providing targeted education around key decisions like distribution planning, Social Security timing, healthcare costs, and retirement income strategies. The most effective support is often personalized—offering access to one-on-one sessions with a retirement advisor or financial wellness partner who can help employees clarify their goals and create an actionable path forward. Employers should also evaluate plan design to ensure it supports late-career savings, including catch-up contributions, match strategy, and auto-escalation, while reinforcing communication so employees clearly understand how to maximize the benefit.
Rachel, the CFO of an organization with roughly 50 employees, shared how her company has taken this approach as more employees near retirement age. To ensure employees don’t reach retirement feeling uncertain or unprepared, the company partners with an advisor group that travels to each office location and meets with employees individually. In these one-on-one conversations, employees are guided through key questions about their goals and retirement plans, then supported in learning how to better use the plan—saving, investing, and aligning contributions with the outcomes they want. Rachel noted the results were extremely positive: participation increased and employees left feeling significantly more confident, informed, and secure after receiving personalized guidance.
Read the Full Transcript Here:
Fred Barstein:
Greetings. This is Fred Barstein, CEO and founder of TPSU. We just completed a program here at Villanova, right outside of Philadelphia, and I’m here with Rachel. Welcome, Rachel.
Rachel:
Thank you.
Fred Barstein:
Okay if we ask you a few questions?
Rachel:
Sure!
Fred Barstein:
Before we do tell our audience a little bit about yourself and the size of your organization?
Rachel:
Sure. My name is Rachel. We have about 50 employees, give or take at any one time, and I’m the CFO.
Fred Barstein:
Great — the CFO, right?
So in the program today, you talked about something you do for pre-retirement employees. Can you explain what it is?
Rachel:
Okay. So we have an aging employee population — several people approaching retirement age — and I want to make that sure they understand what they need to do once they retire.
Fred Barstein:
Right.
Rachel:
So, our advisors… The Summit Group, they go into each office (we’re spread out, so they travel), and they sat down one-on-one, well they did a group session and then — they sit down individually with each employee and ask questions like:
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What are your plans?
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What do you want?
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What are your goals?
And then they work with everyone on how they can use their 401k and invest what they should be investing to reach those goals.
Fred Barstein:
And what was the result?
Rachel:
We had more participation, which we were lacking in, and we also had some pretty happy people because many originally felt like they didn’t really understand what it was all about.
After talking with the advisors, they felt much more comfortable and much more secure.
Fred Barstein:
That’s great.
Last question — is TPSU your first program?
Rachel:
No, it isn’t. It’s my second.
Fred Barstein:
So what are a couple things you learned, and would you recommend this to others?
Rachel:
A couple things I learned: first, that we need to have fiduciary insurance. I think we do, but I need to make sure.
I also learned a little more about catch-up contributions — the rules around the $7,500 and the $11,500 catch-up limits.
Fred Barstein:
There we go. It’s worth it, right?
Rachel:
Yes — it’s definitely worth it.
Fred Barstein:
Very good. Thanks for your time, and thank you for watching 401(k) TV. Please stay tuned.
