Are Your Participants Properly Educated?
Participant education is a critical component of a fiduciary's responsibility when it comes to 401k investments. Even the best designed investment plans fail if not properly communicated to participants.
The harsh truth is that many participants simply don’t understand retirement plan investments, retirement planning, and how to invest their money; moreover, they often have insufficient data on which to base decisions. PMFA’s Institutional Investment Consulting team can guide you and your participants through the investment process. The goals of the plan can include investment-related goals, participation goals, and a variety of other aspects; it’s important that communication for each is addressed.
Key considerations include:
- Do you have measurable goals for your plan?
- Does your messaging align with your goals?
- Does this plan and related messaging work well with your participants? What about employees not yet enrolled?
- What is the best communication strategy for your employees? On site? E-mail? Over the web? This should align with the available resources that they have and their level of use with each type.
The communication program should not be a “one size fits all approach” but rather tailored to your organization’s specific goals. Many times, plan sponsors try to do everything at once. They often times choose an investment plan or communication plan “solution” because it may be easily implemented. However, if the technique does not align with your goals or organization and its participants, the strategy will not work. It’s important to have measurable goals for your plan that can be periodically assessed so that strategy may be revised, if necessary. A properly aligned communication strategy will help empower your participants to take control of their future. Confident in the future, participants can focus on the present.
