Products June 8, 2016

ICMA-RC Enhances Mobile Tools for Participants

Participants in state and local government retirement plans can use text to receive account updates and have more options for contacting the plan provider.
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ICMA-RC has introduced two enhancements to its mobile app: a text messaging feature and plan-level customization.

Both components are designed for state and local government retirement plan sponsor and participant clients.

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ICMA-RC’s TextAccess feature allows a participant to text a keyword and receive account updates via text. Available updates include account balance, contribution amount and rate of return. Visit www.icmarc.org/textaccess for more information about the feature.

ICMA-RC’s enhanced mobile app has an added feature that displays unique, plan-specific content such as custom branding, direct links to the plan’s website and multiple ways to contact their local ICMA-RC representative.

“Our enhanced mobile services allow ICMA-RC to serve public sector employees wherever they are connected and whenever it is convenient,” says Gregory Dyson, senior vice president and chief operating officer of ICMA-RC. “The ability to interact via text and customize employees’ experience through their plan sponsor mobile app allows us to further engage participants with relevant education to help them build a secure retirement.”

The mobile app is available from the App Store and Google Play and provides access to the ICMA-RC’s MyAccount feature, which allows users to enroll in their retirement plan, use educational tools, make fund transfers, rebalance their account, check their account balance, see year-to-date investment performance, and update their contact information.

Products June 8, 2016

Empower to Offer New Financial Wellness Benefit

The company seeks to help employees pay bills and save for emergencies with a new integrated service.
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Empower Retirement plans to offer participants the ability to manage a greater portion of their finances when they go online to access their retirement account.

Through a new exclusive agreement with Atlanta-based DoubleNet Pay, Empower participants will have a new way to pay household bills, pay down debt and contribute to savings accounts.  The service is designed to automatically track employees’ bills and due dates and seamlessly schedule payments around their paycheck cycles. This leaves employees with an exact amount for discretionary spending and sets aside savings based on personal goals.

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“One of the first steps toward saving for tomorrow is effectively managing one’s finances today,” says Edmund F. Murphy, III, president of Empower Retirement. “With this innovative new offering, we’re taking the next step to further add value to clients and participants by providing a new vehicle to ultimately help them prepare for retirement.”

The new service, which Empower will begin offering to select clients in coming months, will be an option available to participants in plans using Empower’s suite of automated payroll services.

Brian Cosgray, chief executive officer of DoubleNet Pay, notes that a key benefit to the service is that it builds in the discipline and organization that some busy workers might not have—and thereby reduces the risk that they will face late charges, overdraft fees and related complications.

Participants who sign up for the new service for a moderate fee will be able to interface with the service through the Empower Retirement participant experience. Participant funds are held in an FDIC-insured savings account at DoubleNet Pay’s partner bank and available to them at any time.

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