Winners tap many tools to reach participants

Technology played a prominent role in the 2023 Pensions & Investments Eddy Awards honoring education and communications by defined contribution sponsors in the corporate, public and not-for-profit worlds.

Sponsors used technology to expand or initiate communications in a post-pandemic world where many employees worked remotely and some on-site services and events were curtailed or canceled.

Technology also helped sponsors cope with the challenges of geography, trying to reach employees and retirees across many states and large territories within states.

And technology also was necessary to improve communications and education by sponsors addressing the different needs of tens of thousands of employees or, in some cases, thousands of employers.

The awards were presented March 14 at the P&I annual Defined Contribution East conference in Orlando, Fla.

Stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Cuyamaca Mountains to the Anza-Borrego Desert, San Diego County has embraced digital content as it tries to reach 23,000 participants living in a county that is slightly bigger in area than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.

When the pandemic struck, county officials turned to digital education because "we felt we could reach more employees," explained Philip Blair, manager of the deferred compensation program at the County of San Diego – Tax Collector's Office.

In the past, the deferred compensation plan held webinars plus an annual in-person event at a centralized location where participants could meet with 20 vendors. "We haven't done that since the pandemic," said Mr. Blair, whose plan won first place in the ongoing investment education category for public plans with more than 5,000 participants.

The winning entry (Nationwide Retirement Solutions was the service provider) was called Learn to Earn, a virtual event that ran from October 2021 through January 2022, focusing on improving participants' understanding of appropriate asset allocation.

It featured videos ranging from fundamental explanations, such as "What's a target-date fund?" to discussions of investment strategies, such as "Do it myself or do it for me."

Learn to Earn also provided a 30-minute asset allocation video workshop, a PDF description of investment options and a link to schedule a meeting with an investment adviser.

And there were quizzes as well as an interactive video that used gardening analogies — weeding and pruning, for example, represented account balancing — that helped a participant grow a garden as a proxy for building a balanced portfolio.

"Gamification was good for people who have less financial literacy," Mr. Blair said. "We wanted to make it approachable for people who might be intimidated."

"The virtual education was comprehensive, focused and playful," wrote one judge.

Technology comes in handy at ADP TotalSource Group Inc., Miami, whose 401(k) plan is a professional employer organization plan providing services to approximately 6,000 employers, some with as few as 10 employees, some with more than 100 and many with 35 to 50 workers. Approximately 161,000 participantshave an account balance.

"Our biggest challenge is the diverse population, and it's the most exciting," said Melissa Pignatiello, senior director of health and wealth.

ADP TotalSource (and service provider Voya Financial) took first place in the ongoing investment education category for corporate plans with more than 5,000 participants.

The plan's embrace of technology took several forms, including videos to employees focusing on the basic principles of investing and investment options. The videos are posted on a participant resources website.

ADP TotalSource provided information to employers in advance with an email and a website that explained to sponsors what participants would experience.

In what appears to be an Eddy Award trend, the employee education campaign also used a gardening theme: "Let's grow your retirement together."

The goal, Ms. Pignatiello explained, was to show participants information that they could use as they approached and moved into retirement — not just providing investment information when they enrolled in the plan.

"This is a very clever and comprehensive campaign," one judge wrote. "I loved the 'grow' theme and pictures."

Another use of technology reflected the data gathered by Voya Financial. Plan officials meet quarterly with their service provider counterparts who describe investing trends that enable ADP TotalSource to plan future education campaigns — the next one will be on emergency savings — and analyze participant investing behavior.

One example: The Voya data showed some participants were investing in multiple target-date series vintages — one person invested in six — enabling ADP TotalSource to educate participants on the proper role of target-date funds, Ms. Pignatiello said.

A virtual benefits and wellness fair worked so well in the past for the University of Texas at Dallas that the university decided to try it again.

The latest result: a 19.3% gain in retirement plan contributions in 2022 vs. 2021, plus greater enrollments in the dental plan, vision plan and assorted insurance coverage.

Plus, the university won a first-place Eddy Award in the not-for-profit/other category covering special projects for plans with more than 5,000 participants.

The coronavirus pandemic prompted the university to emphasize virtual education, said Marita M. Yancey, senior director of benefits and wellness in the university's office of human resources.

The pandemic was the motivation for a virtual benefits fair that also won a first-place special projects Eddy Award two years ago for plans with 1,000 to 5,000 participants in the not-for-profit/other category.

Prior to the pandemic, the university would conduct an on-site benefits fair at the plan's headquarters in Richardson, Texas, and some satellite sites — something it hasn't done since the pandemic because virtual fairs could reach more people for less cost, Ms. Yancey said.

"Employees are grateful that wherever they are, they can do it (learn about benefits) at their own pace," she said.

Working with service provider Lincoln Financial Group, the university used a gardening theme — Grow Your Benefits — for the two-day affair, said Ms. Yancey, an avid gardener.

Gardening puns bloomed throughout the university's communications: "Smell the flowers and get answers to your health benefits." A virtual garden provided links to 20 vendors and offered games and prizes.

"The garden metaphor was very powerful and creative, e.g., 'smell your flowers,' 'grow your benefits,' 'dig around your retirement plan options,' 'harvest the possibilities,' 'stroll through the gardens,' etc.," one judge wrote. "The videos were creative, and I appreciated that they included pictures of real employees (that) made the topic/event seem welcoming."

Although the pandemic forced many sponsors to rethink their education efforts to use video, virtual meetings and other technology strategies to replace on-site events, using digital strategies was old news for the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System, Jefferson City. Video has been a retirement-education staple of the State of Missouri Deferred Compensation Plan for many years.

A weeklong campaign during America Saves Week last year continued that tradition of combining humor and education.

Concerned that employees were hearing misinformation about the plan and retirement savings, MOSERS produced a series of Retirement Savings Mythbusters videos. "Video is a great way to start the discussion that can help alleviate sources of myths," said Brooke Rowden, the defined contribution plan's education and marketing director.

Among the myths: The defined benefit plan and Social Security will be sufficient for retirement; saving 1% a year is adequate; and the deferred compensation plan is a product vendor.

Rumors emerged after the pandemic started, said Ms. Rowden, adding that this was likely due to people working at home. "We wanted to nip this in the bud," Ms. Rowden said. The video campaign, which featured MOSERS staff members, earned a second-place tie in the special projects category for public plans with more than 5,000 participants.

"These videos were short, fun and got people's attention," one judge wrote.

The other second-place winner in this category was the State of Rhode Island Office of Employee Benefits, Providence. Collaborating with its service provider, Segal Benz, employee benefits officials launched a campaign to remind employees to select beneficiaries in five state programs — life insurance, the health savings account and three retirement plans — requiring five separate benefits designations.

Some participants signed up for their benefits but failed to list a beneficiary and some provided an incomplete list of beneficiaries, said Paula Cofone, deputy personnel administrator.

The campaign included a special webpage with instructions about choosing a beneficiary augmented by a video on the webpage, email alerts and references to other state benefits websites.

A postcard was sent to employees just before the start of open enrollment for all benefits. "It was a strategic time," Ms. Cofone said.

"Beneficiary designations are often times overlooked," one judge noted. "It isn't until someone dies and no beneficiary is on file, that you realize that a majority of plan participants haven't named a beneficiary."

Another judge praised the campaign for its "very focused and comprehensive communications strategy and tools."

Southwest Airlines Co., Dallas, used video as part of its campaign to encourage retirement plan participants to select beneficiaries, creating the beneficiary game show. For each week during a one-month campaign, airline employees answered questions from an Empower Retirement game show host.

"We use employees in all of our benefits communications because it's relatable," said Monica Centers, manager of retirement total rewards.

Southwest promoted its retirement plan campaign using the phrase "Wanna Get A 'Way' To Retirement," a reference to the company's ticket-selling tagline "Wanna Get Away."

"The videos are a fun way for participants to stay engaged and learn more about their plan," one judge wrote.

The campaign led to 814 participants adding beneficiaries to their retirement plan and a second-place tie in the category of special projects for corporations with more than 5,000 participants.

The campaign was a response to many employees failing to designate — or update — a beneficiary. "This is a hardship for their families," Ms. Centers said.

Although some sponsors used famous phrases to heighten their education communications, others decided that pictures were worth 1,000 (or more) words.

Trek Bicycle Corp. has experienced significant growth in sales and stores — and employees — in recent years. To make sure newcomers and veterans were aware of their benefits, the company launched a retirement savings campaign filled with bicycle images, videos, newsletters, emails and online tools covering investing/savings topics such as the value of saving early and making incremental contributions.

"We want employees to make a long-term investment," said Shane McPeak, director of compensation, benefits and HR systems for the Waterloo, Wis.-based manufacturer and retailer of bicycles. "We want to build brand loyalists for life."

Mr. McPeak noted several firsts: the first use of video for its retirement education — "we are now doing videos for non-retirement" education — and the first time the company used the bicycle theme. "We know that with a diverse collection of employees, people love the short videos," he said.

Part of Trek's presentation featured a drawing of a bicycle with each component — frame, pedals, wheels, etc.— representing messages for saving, investing and account management with the theme "The Right Components for Your Retirement."

"The component piece was also a highlight for me," one judge wrote. "It was simple but well thought out and organized for ease of use and action."

The company has enjoyed considerable growth in the last three years, especially in retail where it now has more than 300 stores compared with four in 2014, Mr. McPeak said.

With a 95% participation rate in two retirement plans — a 401(k) plan and an employee stock ownership plan — Mr. McPeak said the company has been focusing on various retirement savings issues since September 2022 in a program that is continuing. Deferral increases, managed account usage, forecast tool usage and the role of a Roth plan are among the topics. "The campaign was very engaging with the videos that are made available on the landing page of the website as well as the individual pieces were very creative and tied well to the company's branding," one judge wrote. "The results are impressive and showed that it got the participants' attention."

Trek Bicycle (Transamerica Retirement Solutions is the service provider) won first place in the special projects category for corporate plans with 1,000 to 5,000 participants.

For Muncie Power Products Inc., an education campaign was punctuated by the bright red color in the company's logo, a strategy used in all corporate communications, said Candace Bankovich, senior executive director for people strategy and general counsel of the Muncie, Ind.-based manufacturer and distributor of motors, hydraulics and other industrial machinery.

With multiple locations and with employees working different shifts — including many who don't have access to computers at work — Muncie Power had to find ways to promote its retirement savings messages. The result was a multimedia campaign with the theme "Build Trust in Your Future," based in part by an April 2021 survey by service provider OneAmerica asking employees what financial and retirement information they wanted.

One email provided links to enrollment information, education tools and retirement income needs. The campaign included — via email and regular mail — a two-page worksheet focusing on budgeting and living expenses; a two-page brochure on the benefits of compounding; and a one-page notice telling participants that their retirement plan contributions would be raised automatically.

The result was a dramatic increase in participation and contributions, according to the company's Eddy Awards application. In June 2019, the participation rate was 55.9% and the average contribution rate was 3.76% of pay. By June 30, 2022, the participation rate was 96.7% and the average contribution rate was 6%.

Believing that one-on-one meetings are valuable for communicating financial advice and human resources guidelines, Muncie Power Products makes sure new employees receive their information in person, Ms. Bankovich said.

"In-person meetings really work," she said. "We try to do it on all levels." And if employees couldn't attend on-site financial/retirement meetings, the company videotapes them.

Muncie Power Products won first place in the special projects category for corporations with fewer than 1,000 participants.

"I like the usage of familiar colors and machinery that grabs the employees' attention," one judge wrote. "I like the organization of the tools they provided that guide them to and through enrollment."

Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, used a common retirement/savings symbol — a pink piggy bank — to win first place in the not-for-profit/other category for plan transitions covering more than 5,000 participants. (The transition team also won an internal "Impact Award for Excellence.")

This wasn't a cliche piggy bank: it was strapped to the top of a (model) car to remind participants in the IU Health Physicians Retirement Savings Plan — your retirement plan is "on the move" — about the merger into the IU Health 401(k) Savings Plan effective in January 2022. (Empower Retirement was the service provider.)

"We kept the best components of each plan," said Angela R. Curry, senior manager for retirement.

When the merger was completed, IU Health's website heralded the revised services with a picture of the "party pig" — the piggy bank draped in miniature Christmas tree lights.

The campaign included a transition brochure and a microsite with frequently asked questions (and answers) about the merger highlighting investment information.

"Great job of communicating the plan transition and retirement planning," one judge wrote. "Congratulations on the internal award. It's so rare for a benefits program to be recognized internally."

The merger was "five years in the making" as executives and consultants sought to convince "very vocal" IU Health Physicians plan participants of the merger's value, Ms. Curry said.

"This was our second try" at merging the two retirement plans, said Ms. Curry, adding that there were no complaining phone calls and no emails expressing concern. "This was the quietest thing I've ever been on."

Ingevity Corp., North Charleston, S.C., set out to achieve three goals for increasing employee engagement with the company's retirement services: providing certified financial planning services, introducing participants to a new 401(k) plan website and improving communications.

Changing service providers in 2020 to Empower Retirement, "opened opportunities for better communication," said Tamra Miller, benefits manager.

The comprehensive format included information via email, posters and the company website, telling participants about, among other things, an automatic annual increase in retirement plan contributions and informing them of a merit increase and bonus payout.

"It is an easy to read, engaging format," said Ms. Miller, adding that it is important to convey the information in layman's terms in a company whose employees range from manufacturing plant workers to Ph.D. chemists.

Ingevity also provided recommendations to specific age groups — from under 50 to 65-69. "Regardless of where you are on your timeline to retirement, there is always something to consider in preparing for your financial future," the education campaign said.

Ingevity placed second in the special projects category for corporations with 1,000 to 5,000 participants.

"This was a creative and an impressively effective campaign," one judge wrote.

"The goal is very clear and focused with three key objectives," another judge wrote. "The materials clearly align with the goals. The materials are very creative."

The goals of Aspirus Inc., a Wausau, Wis.-based non-profit health-care system, went well beyond investing. Among the subjects participants received through a financial wellness program were debt repayment strategies, establishing retirement plan beneficiaries, Social Security strategies, creating an emergency fund and estimating the need for life insurance.

"Financial wellness affects what people do at work," said Ellen Baldwin, vice president of system total rewards.

Although Aspirus provided some employee benefits in the past, "coming out of COVID, we knew there was more to do," Ms. Baldwin said.

Aspirus offers two programs: Aspire to Be Well and [email protected] The former offers a 5% reduction in health insurance premiums if employees follow a wellness program criteria and a 10% reduction in premiums if the employee and spouse/domestic partner complete the criteria.

The latter offers financial advice paid from assets in the company's 403(b) plan. The advisers are financial coaches — not financial-product sales personnel.

"This is a pretty well rounded financial wellness offering, and I'm glad to see the coaching with an adviser, vs. just using an app," one judge wrote.

Aspirus (with service provider Francis Investment Counsel) took first place in the financial wellness category for not-for-profit/other plans with more than 5,000 participants.

Eddy winners tap variety of tools to drive engagement, action

P&I's 2023 Eddy Award winners used a variety of tools to drive messages about saving for retirement, financial wellness, investment options and more.

Eddy winners tap a variety of tools