Detail, quick innovation common winning themes

Mr. Callahan said there are five generations among Howard University’s participants including retirees. “We really needed to help retirees, active employees and everyone in every generation understand the retirement benefits,” he said.

The Illinois State Universities Retirement System, Champaign, and service provider Voya Financial, won first place in the conversions/403(b) consolidations category for public plans with more than 5,000 participants, thanks to an extensive revamping of its DC plan lineup. The sponsor changed record keepers — reducing the number to one from two — and it created a new default investment option emphasizing lifetime income.

“The previous requirement for our members to annuitize 100% of their account balance at a point in time was one of the primary reasons for embarking on our plan redesign project and why we sought a solution that offered more flexibility than a traditional annuity,” Suzanne Mayer, interim executive director and chief benefits officer, wrote in an email.

Before the conversion, approximately 60% of defined contribution plan retirees chose a lump-sum payment instead of an annuity.

“Individuals were opting for the lump sum even though in most instances it was not financially advantageous over the long term,” Ms. Mayer wrote.

The SURS Lifetime Income Strategy component is part of a customized target-date fund series that automatically adjusts as participants reach age 50, moving participants’ assets into a lifetime income option. The traditional annuity option remains available.

By the end of February, Ms. Mayer reported that 86.5% of participants were fully invested in the new lifetime income strategy, 6.2% have assets in this strategy as well as in the plan’s core funds, and 7.3% invest only in core funds.

“We were surprised at how open to change the majority of our membership was in this regard,” she added.

ND Paper Inc., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., placed first in the conversions/403(b) consolidations category for corporate plans with 1,000 to 5,000 participants. Principal Financial was the service provider.

Having become an independent company in June 2018, “we inherited a (retirement) platform that was less than adequate for our current business and where we wanted to go,” said Bob Fieck, vice president of human resources.

When the company decided to switch record keepers to Principal Financial, it wanted to make sure to “eliminate surprises, reduce anxiety and generate excitement” for the change, the company’s Eddy Award application said. That meant contacting local human resources representatives to generate employee support and giving key members of the HR staff a chance to review and provide feedback on communications strategy.

As a result, the conversion was “a seamless transition with virtually zero questions and concerns,” he said.

Eddy Award judges praised the multi-faceted effort. It was “very comprehensive and easy to understand,” one judge wrote.

Created in 2015 via acquisition and merger, Avangrid Inc., Orange, Conn., was at one time administering 18 retirement plans with multiple record keepers and several investment menus.

Part of the process was a campaign to educate participants about the consolidation, introduce the record keeper, and build a greater “sense of community” among participants for the new plan. “To ensure that we had maximum engagement and people felt that they were part of this change, and it was a positive change, I rolled out a contest to pick the new slogan of the plan,” said Paul Visconti, director of retirement programs and investments.

The campaign earned Avangrid a first place award for plan transitions among corporate plans with more than 5,000 participants.

The company developed a few choices and asked employees to pick one. The winner: “Generating a brighter retirement together.” Mr. Visconti, noting the play on words because Avangrid is a utility company, said this let people “feel like they were part of the consolidation and kind of have their voices heard.”

When asked what people can learn from Avangrid’s experience, Mr. Visconti said: “It’s crucial to engage your employees in as creative a way as possible. People like to receive stuff for participating and having their voices heard. So I think there’s no harm in giving some small little gifts to people to give their feedback and share their thoughts.”

If necessity is the mother of invention, then the pandemic may have been the stepmother of innovation.

Making the switch to a virtual online benefits “mall” from traditional live benefits fairs earned the University of Texas at Dallas a first place special projects award for plans with 1,000 to 5,000 participants in the not for profit/other category. Lincoln Financial Group was their service provider.

“It was a fun way and a different, creative way,” said Marita Yancey, senior director of benefits and wellness.

Also in a normal year, 500 to 600 people attend a live event. Last year, 4,829 entered the virtual fair platform, Ms. Yancey said.

The stock market turmoil during the first quarter of 2020 prompted Sony Corporation of America, New York, to enhance its participant education efforts targeting communications to those who were invested solely in a stable value fund.

“We were hearing from participants a lot of questions, a lot of anxiety,” said Judy Leung, Sony’s benefits manager. They were asking “what’s going on with the market and what was happening to their retirement savings.”

Sony reported that of those who took action based on the stable value fund emails, 72% eliminated the fund from future allocations and 89% “shifted away from the fund by at least 50%.” More than $5 million in plan assets moved to other allocations from stable value.

“I know sometimes it feels like it’s really hard to reach out to participants,” Ms. Leung said. “But sending out targeted communications to them can help bridge that gap with participants and really make them pay attention.”

Financial wellness programs were growing well before the pandemic struck, and sponsors said the value of wellness services intensified as the pandemic took an economic and health-care toll.

“It became evident to us that if our employees are going to remain retirement ready, we really need to reach out to educate,” said Russell DuBose, director of human resources for Phifer Inc., Tuscaloosa, Ala., first place winner for financial wellness among corporate plans with 1,000 to 5,000 participants.

Phifer tied for first-place honors with Seagate Technology LLC, Cupertino, Calif. John Hancock Retirement Plan Services was Phifer’s service provider, and Segal Benz was Seagate’s service provider.

“We have resources available for employees to meet their responsibilities and obligations without potentially damaging their retirement readiness,” said Mr. DuBose, whose company makes window and door screens.

Phifer’s wellness education effort combined in-person interviews and online technology. This included an app that contained information on retirement readiness. “The campaign was about how do we reach those different generations and meet their expectations,” Mr. DuBose said.

Judges noted that Phifer’s wellness approach covers more than retirement with seminars on long-term care, Medicare, Social Security, credit, budgeting and estate planning, plus a class on financial literacy at a local community college. “It’s clear that Phifer is trying to do best by its employees,” one judge wrote.

Asked what financial wellness strategy he would recommend to sponsors, Mr. DuBose responded: “Be creative. Be spontaneous. Have fun with it.”