This is an all too common problem,… It’s important right now for 401k plan sponsors to urge their service providers to educate employees about it.
Education
If you are responsible for 401k participant education or in any form of employee-based financial literacy program, you may want to adopt methods used by others who teach adults.
Aside from pep talks and infusing it into their corporate culture, don’t forget that much of what is needed can be built right into the plan.
All these strategies can be employed today and have proven themselves effective. It’s unclear that disclosing projected retirement income will provide the kind of incentive that will work.
It’s fun to talk about “risk” and “return” because these are measurables and people are comfortable with the tangible world. But none of that touches upon what really matters. Worse, it can distract you from achieving what you want most.
Reports say the DOL expects 3,200 registered PPPs when PEPs become effective next January. Do you expect to be one of them, or will you be working for someone else?
It’s not as if this “surprisingly secret” formula has run its course. The equation is so timeless, so simple, that it continues to work for those who have the disciple to follow its rules. Still, can today’s workers see this work for them?
Nonetheless, there is a way to short-circuit this time-frame. You can do it, but you’ve got to really want to do it.
Perhaps the first option to focus on is that one that involves “paying back” or “not paying back.” The rules, while straightforward to financial professionals, may be less apparent to retirement savers.
One of the biggest risks inherent in MEPs/PEPs is coordinating all of the many moving pieces. Here’s why people might be wrong to think they know enough about assembling a 401k MEP/PEP and regulatory compliance only heightens the potential liability.
