Deals and People April 2, 2013

Mercer Names Head of Consultant Relations

April 2, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Derrick Capps has been named head of consultant relations for Mercer's U.S. benefits administration business.
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Capps will focus on strengthening Mercer’s relationships with third-party search consultants and will report to Kerry Sain, senior partner and U.S. sales leader, Outsourcing.

Capps has been with Mercer since 2009, first as an analyst for its retirement sales team and more recently as the leader of its RFP response team. Prior to Mercer, Capps worked at Wachovia Bank, where during a seven-year career he was a member of the consultant relations team and also managed a group of internal retirement administration sales associates.

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He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations from Virginia Tech University. 

“We are very pleased that Derrick has agreed to take on this critical role,” said Sain. “As Mercer continues to further build and strengthen our benefit administration capabilities and tools in support of our consulting solutions, we will look to Derrick to further develop our ability to serve clients and prospects via the vital search consultant channel.”

Benefits April 2, 2013

Few Have Retirement Income Goals Despite Anxiety

April 2, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Four in ten (44%) Americans polled admit their retirement savings may not last until the end of their life.
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Yet, when it comes to developing a retirement savings goal, only one-fifth (21%) of middle-income retirees and preretirees calculated a monthly retirement income goal number, and only one in ten (13%) determined a total savings goal number to reach, according to the latest study released by the Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center For A Secure Retirement (CSR).  

The CSR study finds more than half of middle-income Boomers (55%) have saved less than $100,000 for retirement. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of middle-income preretirees report some level of anxiety about retirement; one in four (28%) report being “anxious” or “very anxious.”  

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Declining health is the number one longevity concern for respondents—nearly four times the concern about inadequate retirement savings (10%) or outliving their money (9%).   

To compensate for the possibility of outliving their savings, middle-income Americans plan to: 

  • Reduce spending (63%); 
  • Get a part-time job in retirement (41%); 
  • Sell house (25%); 
  • Give less money to children/grandchildren (24%); and  
  • Do nothing (15%). 

The good news is that the majority of today’s middle-income Americans are living within their budget. According to the CSR study, seven out of ten (70%) report living comfortably within their budget; only one in ten (9%) admit to living beyond their means.    

The Bankers Life and Casualty Company Center for a Secure Retirement’s study, “Longevity Risk and Reward for Middle-Income Americans,” was conducted in November 2012 among a nationwide sample of 500 Americans ages 55 to 75 who have an annual household income of between $25,000 and $75,000 by the independent research firm The Boomer Project. The full report can be viewed at CenterForASecureRetirement.com.

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