PLANADVISER - January/February 2022 - 35

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Winning Strategies for Retirement Plan Advisers
Improving Outcomes
Most plans offer
digital access,
yet participant
engagement
lags-what can
advisers do?
Most plans offer
digital access,
yet participant
engagement
lags-what can
advisers do?
FINANCIAL WELLNESS SPECIAL ISSUE
GROWING YOUR PRACTICE ISSUE
Winning Strategies for Retirement Plan Advisers
THE PARTICIPANT DIGITAL EXPERIENCE falls into a broad context, says
Aaron Pottichen, senior vice president at Alliant Retirement Consulting in
Austin, Texas. " The conversation we're having with plan sponsors is, what
can they do to provide a better experience for their employees overall? "
The participant website and mobile app are likely the standard ways many
employees connect with their retirement plan, so the quality of the digital
experience has become more important. " I view a better experience as one
that has less 'friction,' when participants decide to engage with their 401(k), "
Pottichen says. " How does friction come about? When they try to initiate a
loan or hardship withdrawal, or update their beneficiary or just check their
balance, and they can't do it simply. If you're a recordkeeper, let's start with
those basics, and then build a snazzy website. "
Only 43% of the 5,363 retirement plan participants surveyed for J.D. Power's
" 2021 U.S. Retirement Plan Digital Satisfaction Study " said they find it very easy
to locate the information they are looking for on their retirement plan website and mobile app.
And just 24% strongly agreed that their plan recordkeeper offers proactive guidance and help.
" There are many considerations in choosing a plan provider. One that has started to get
more attention is the participant experience, and a significant part of that is the participant
digital experience, " says Mike Foy, senior director of wealth management intelligence at
J.D. Power, in Troy Michigan. " How providers deliver value to participants through the digital
experience varies and is something [plan sponsors] should consider " when evaluating plan
providers, he says.
What Surveys Show
The J.D. Power survey, released last September, found wide variation in how well specific
providers succeed at filling participants' digital needs today. " In our participant survey, there
was almost a 100-point gap between the top and bottom providers[-there were 26 in total-]
on a 1,000-point scale, " Foy says. " The top five providers are significantly above the average in
participant satisfaction. " For overall participant satisfaction with the digital experience, these
providers ranked highest, in order from fifth to first: Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, AIG Retirement
Services, Bank of America and Charles Schwab.
Please
WELL
Proposals
That
To Ensure
All Are
Make your responses to RFPs
stand out above the rest
Building custom programs
can support the next phase
of financial wellness
18 | planadviser.com January-February 2022
Art by Marlena Hernández planadviser.com January-February 2022 | 19
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The pandemic forces advisers to rethink their
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PLANADVISER - January/February 2022

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