Products March 10, 2016

BPAS Unveils Online Participant Education Center

A new platform from BPAS hopes to lift participant engagement through education, research and games.
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BPAS released its online Participant Education Center (PEC) in December as new component in its education process that aims to drive retirement plan participant outcomes. Education is a critical component to a successful retirement program, the company contends. The site is central to BPAS’ Roadways to Retirement program.

“As we work with advisers and corporate trustees at BPAS, we focus both on automatic and elective ways to improve retirement readiness,” says Paul Neveu, president of BPAS plan administration and recordkeeping services.

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The site has four modules:

  • Learn: Has resources for ongoing participant education, such as a virtual classroom, a financial resource center, and a library.
  • Research: Participants can research funds, view real-time market data, and read commentary about the markets throughout the day.
  • Interact: An “Ask an Expert” Forum lets participants ask questions of a BPAS panel of experts on a range of topics.
  • Plan: Participants can plan using a risk tolerance questionnaire, and a library of financial planning calculators and tools. A special section, “The Journey to Ten Times Pay,” gives real-life examples from other participants.

According to Brian Nicholson, senior sales relationship manager at BPAS, site traffic has averaged around 1,200 visits per day across laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.

The virtual classroom and “Ask an Expert” features seem to be getting the most visits, say Nicholson and Neveu. Based on participant questions and feedback, the firm plans to roll out more content in these areas. “When you consider participants with balances over $25,000, most will log on to the website 15 or 20 times for every time they attend an education meeting,” says Neveu.  

The firm scrutinized the type and complexity of questions to the call center and designed content to differentiate account-specific questions from those that are tax, legal or philosophical in nature. The site can automatically route questions to the appropriate forum. Questions can range from “What are the current rules for beneficiary designations?” to more complex questions about non-discrimination testing rules, 72(p) loan limits or frequent trading rules.

Planned enhancements include moving toward gamification with quizzes that test participant knowledge about retirement planning concepts. Additional modules are being added to the virtual classroom. BPAS will be adding a special section to the PEC geared to 1081 plans in Puerto Rico over the next month, as well as additional content geared at health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs).

“We are trying to engage participants on important topics, while making it fun,” Nicholson says. “There are exciting things you can accomplish through the creative use of technology when you keep it engaging.”

BPAS is a national provider of retirement plan administration and related services.

Break from the Grind March 10, 2016

A Little Friday File Fun

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In Laojunshan, Henan Province, China, on the lead up to International Women’s Day, an event was organized to promote forgiveness between husbands and wives, empowering women. Men lined up inside of life-sized blue punching bags. Signs were written on the backs of the punching bags that said: ‘If you’re angry please hit me.’ Women took turns punching their husband’s as hard as they could while wearing boxing gloves. The event was all in fun, though; the men and women were seen laughing and joking, UK Daily Mail reports.

In Llanelli, South Wales, two men attempted to break into a car maintenance business by jumping through the roof. However, the first man jumped and hit his head on the side of the wall, knocking himself out. Video surveillance shows his partner climbing down and bringing him to, before they both left empty-handed, according to the UK’s Telegraph.

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In New York City, a woman walked in to a pizzeria and asked for a pizza with chicken as a topping. An employee told the woman they didn’t have chicken as a topping, and the woman became irate and scratched the employee’s hand. DNAinfo reports that another worker tried to step in and calm the woman, but she scratched him on the arm, and tried to bite him. According to the news report, a friend with the woman did nothing to try to help. The woman has been charged with two counts of assault, one count of attempted assault and one count of harassment.

In Tallahassee, Florida, the legislature is working to make it okay for couples to cohabitate. The House has passed a bill to repeal the state’s prohibition on cohabitation and it is on the desk of Governor Rick Scott. According to Yahoo! News, under a law that has been on the books since 1868, a man and woman living together could be fined $500 and locked up in jail for 60 days. According to 2014 census data, there are nearly 438,000 couples in Florida violating this law.

In Brooklyn, New York, a man who calls himself “the modern-day Robin Hood” has been charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and petit larceny—for giving away free drinks at IHOP. According to DNAinfo, the owner of the IHOP told police he grew suspicious when he noticed Powell’s beverage sales were at 6% of the total receipt compared to 17% to 20% for other employees working the same shift and schedule. After investigating, he found the employee lost $3,000 in drink sales by not charging customers for their drinks. “I am the modern-day Robin Hood, I am not stealing, I am serving the ones in need, I take from the rich and give to the poor,” the man told investigators after he was caught.

But, the train on the bride’s dress looked like a fresh pile of white leaves.

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A hazard of live reporting next to a street.

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Come on, everybody, let’s dance!

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