PLANADVISER - November/December 2019 - 35

Driven through Differentiators
Interview with Sandy McCarthy
Published in December 2019 | Sponsored by OneAmerica®
THE RETIREMENT industry has long seen companies who
continue to respond to the industry's changing issues and concerns
with the same cookie-cutter tactics. At OneAmerica, though,
Sandy McCarthy and her team are taking a different approach. As
they prepare for 2020, the OneAmerica team is focusing on three
key differentiators that matter most to financial advisors and those
working to help Americans prepare for retirement. McCarthy,
retirement services division president, explains.
PA: What is your first key differentiator, and why should
retirement plan advisors care?
Mccarthy: First and foremost, at OneAmerica we are focused
on relationships. We see our size as an advantage that allows us
to know advisors in a deeper way. Plan advisors have access at all
levels of the organization and can reach me directly to have meaningful
conversations about what's important to them. The personal
relationship is of great importance to us and I believe truly does
set us apart.
We're also extremely devoted to service and the customer
experience. An advisor recently commented that when a
problem arises, we 'walk through the fire' until it's fixed. We
take our commitments seriously, and advisors who work with us
appreciate the highly responsive service we deliver. Once plans
do their due diligence, we often stand out as the right company
to help financial professionals grow their business and offer optimized
retirement plan solutions.
PA: A second differentiator you've identified is education. Can
you elaborate?
Mccarthy: Absolutely. We view education from a unique
perspective, and strive to continually offer new, cutting-edge tools
and resources for our stakeholders. Our education programs are
always influenced by the close connections we have with our advisors
and sponsors, who help us to tailor our offerings to meet
their specific needs.
At a participant level, we provide comprehensive educational
materials that focus on all facets of financial wellness-from
managing personal debt to planning for health-related expenses
and beyond. It's important to us to ensure participants know their
options and can create tailored plans to help them meet their
retirement goals.
We also strive to provide educational opportunities for our
plan sponsors. One example planned for 2020 is a program to
help sponsors understand their fiduciary responsibilities. Fiduciary
requirements and concerns consistently rank among the top three
priorities when we conduct surveys of plan sponsors. As a result,
we're teaming up with a well-known provider to deliver the
knowledge and background sponsors need.
Of course, cyber security is also a major issue for the retirement
industry. Earlier this year, we hosted webinars for our
sponsors, helping to explain the current risks and how OneAmerica
is working to mitigate those for our sponsors and participants.
This issue is always top-of-mind at OneAmerica, and we'll
continue to focus on cyber security awareness and education in
2020. To this end, we also rolled out our Customer Protection
Promise, which outlines our commitment to keep our participants'
assets secure.
PA: The third differentiator you've identified is particularly
special to you. What is that?
Mccarthy: Customization. At every facet, we're working to offer
solutions for each plan's unique needs.
We help our distribution partners and our retirement plan
sponsors develop an optimized plan design-implementing
features like auto-enrollment and auto-escalation to help lay the
groundwork for retirement preparation. We provide communications
and educational materials so that sponsors can engage
with their employees and make it their own. By taking a unique
and customized approach with each plan, participants receive
materials that are relevant to them and help them understand
the options they have in terms of retirement preparation and
financial wellness.
At OneAmerica, customization also means innovative investment
tools to take traditional options a step further. One
example of this is the Personalized Retirement Accounts, which
go beyond standard target date funds and allow for multi-faceted
customization.
PA: What else is on the horizon in 2020?
Mccarthy: We're excited about
the concept of developing
'buyer' personas, which are representations of our actual participants-taking
into account who they are, what they are trying
to accomplish, how they behave throughout the buying cycle, and
how they manage life events that create new 'decision points'. All
of this stems from our desire to deepen our relationship with our
clients and optimize outcomes for our participants.
PA: Do differentiators really matter?
Mccarthy: Yes! It all comes down to a client's unique needs.
At OneAmerica, our differentiators allow us to truly know our
clients and understand what they want from a retirement services
provider. This commitment-to understand each client's needs
and align those needs with customized solutions-explains why
OneAmerica can be a great fit for so many. n
OneAmerica®
is the marketing name
for the companies of OneAmerica.
To learn more about our products, services
and the companies of OneAmerica, visit
oneamerica.com/companies.
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PLANADVISER - November/December 2019

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