Jamie Greenleaf, noted plan advisor and TPSU (The Plan Sponsor University) Adjunct Lecturer, explains how she tries to take complicated industry jargon and turn it into a language her DC (defined contribution) plan clients can understand at a TPSU program held at Rutgers University.
“The DC industry,” according to Greenleaf “Does a ‘great job’ of using complicated jargon.” Have you ever heard an advisor or provider talk about 408(b)(2) and 404(5)(a) disclosures, 12(b)(1) and subTA revenue sharing or even A or I mutual fund shares expecting you to follow along? Why do they assume you should know what they know?
Greenleaf is successful because she speaks English to her clients. For example, employers sponsoring a DC plan are much more savvy about healthcare and are used to automatically enrolling employees in their healthcare plan where the employee has to opt out. Using healthcare auto-enrollment as the model, Greenleaf is able to get her DC plan clients more comfortable with auto-enrolling employees in the company’s retirement plan. She is also careful to explain the difference between a DC and DB plan where the former is defined by the contributions made and the latter is defined by the benefit promised.
Greenleaf, a long time TPSU Adjunct Lecturer also relays why she continues to participate – TPSU is one of the few educational programs for DC plan sponsors that focuses on peer to peer interaction. Though experts are important, plan sponsors want to hear from their peers realizing that they are not alone trying to help their company and employees take full advantage of the benefits of the DC plan.
Maybe we should be sending some industry people for more education training on how to better communicate with plan sponsors and their employees about the company’s retirement plan.
