Stretch That Match to Get Participants to Save More

Most workers save only enough to get the employer match, according to research from LIMRA.

A combination of plan design and professional advice can help solve the problem of getting plan participants to save more, whether they are workers in nonprofit organizations or in the private sector.

The company match can act as a powerful incentive that drives employee behavior, says Michael Ericson, an analyst with LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. Workers in private sector and nonprofits alike will save only enough in their defined contribution (DC) plans to receive the full company match, according to a study from the institute.

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Professional advice can be helpful to both types of workers, Ericson says. The key is to understand the unique challenges and obstacles each group faces.

Nearly half of American workers believe they are not saving enough for retirement, and four in 10 working households have less than $25,000 saved for retirement, LIMRA says. Using a stretch match strategy— which would require an employee to save a higher percentage to attain the full company match—can be a way for plan sponsors to increase plan participants’ savings behavior.  

Fewer than half of workers surveyed (four in 10, in both private sector and nonprofit industries) consider themselves “savers.” Of those with access to a DC plan, 20% are not making any contributions at all to the plan. Those in the private sector who are not contributing are more likely to say they cannot afford to defer any salary or to have competing savings priorities, compared with nonprofit employees (67% vs 53%).

Institute researchers found more than one-third of Millennial workers in both the nonprofit and private sectors are saving 10% or more (34% and 35% respectively). Only 27% of Boomers and 28% of Gen X not-for-profit workers are saving at that rate. In the private sector, Boomers and Gen X workers save a bit more than their Millennial counterparts: 36% of Boomers and 35% of Gen X workers are saving 10% or more in their retirement plans.

Even with robust saving habits, pre-retirees surveyed have no plan on how they will withdraw the assets from their DC plans once they retire. Just one-third have calculated their savings and expenses in retirement. The study found nearly half of pre-retirees said they plan to withdraw 9% or more of their assets each year in retirement. Most financial experts recommend drawing no more than 4% a year and in low-interest rate environments, maybe less.

“With longevity at an all-time high, retirement can last more than three decades,” says Ericson. “Understanding how to safely draw down savings becomes critically important for retirees. Not-for-profit workers are more likely to have a pension income along with their DC plan, but most for-profit workers will not have one.” 

T. Rowe Price Latest to Adopt SmartDollar Financial Wellness

Retirement plan clients of T. Rowe Price using the firm’s Retire With Confidence program can now access Dave Ramsey’s SmartDollar financial wellness solution. 

T. Rowe Price announced that Ramsey Solutions’ SmartDollar will soon be available for integration into the Retire With Confidence program.

Upon plan sponsor election, participants will have access to SmartDollar’s online tools and interactive lessons “designed to help them pursue a better path to retirement readiness.” Full-service recordkeeping clients will be able to deliver the service to participants as soon as April 2016, according to T. Rowe Price.

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Diana Awed, head of product and marketing for T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, says the addition of SmartDollar adds to the firm’s multi-channel approach to financial wellness and will “encourage employees to address their financial and budgeting needs, and ultimately help them build a stronger financial foundation.”

Speaking with PLANADVISER last year, Ramsey explained the SmartDollar program as “a common-sense approach about making and sticking to a budget, eliminating debt and building, at least initially, a $1,000 emergency fund. These are at the root of the program.”

With the announcement that T. Rowe Price would add SmartDollar, Brian Hamilton, vice president of Financial Wellness for Ramsey Solutions, adds that building emergency savings is key because it “frees up an individual’s largest wealth-building tool: their income. With so many Americans living paycheck to paycheck, it’s no wonder that participants are not on track for retirement.”

More information on T. Rowe Price’s Retire With Confidence and the SmartDollar integration is here. LPL Financial was an early retirement adviser to adopt SmartDollar as a client deliverable, along with retirement plan administrator Fifth Third Bank

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