A few years ago, this might have been classified as a common “mistake.” Again, “mistake” is in quotes because this is less an issue for certain plans (usually small firms or particular industries) than others.
Plan Sponsors
Common mistakes. Non-believing 401k plan sponsors. How many of these have you seen? What have you done to address the dilemma of what to do when the client isn’t always right?
But this rookie mistake doesn’t bypass veteran plan sponsors. If they’ve grown too complacent with their plan, they may wake up one day to find out they’ve got a dinosaur on their hands.
Retirees should think for themselves and what alternatives they have regarding their retirement assets. These aren’t the same as they were when they were working.
As with many things, hands-on instruction is generally the best way to achieve this, especially if you make it into an engaging workshop that’s all about the employee and the employee’s dreams, not about the plan.
Just as these changes come bearing down, so, too, does a need for greater hand holding. Pressures within the provider industry, however, appear to be reducing the number of available hands.
This doesn’t mean you shoot haphazardly for the stars when you can have the moon. After all, you’ve got to know your limitations. Seeking unreachable goals will only make your retirement seem hollow and pointless.
It’s been around for a while, but NetFlix et al have made ‘binge-watching’ a social norm. Is this habit about to trickle down into 401k education and financial literacy in general?
Today, more and more plan providers are thinking “inside the box,” trying to spice up employee meetings by throwing a good dose of entertainment in with the education.
There’s a perverse incentive working here, however. The more aggressive a plan sponsor gets in terms of promoting “financial wellness,” the more likely that plan sponsor will accidentally cross some compliance line.
