Products August 4, 2015

Guardian Enhances 401(k) Website for Small DC Plans

A retirement planning management system provides education and guidance to positively influence the savings behaviors of plan participants in smaller companies.
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The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company Inc. (GIAC) has enhanced, its website to improve the administration, management and utilization of defined contribution (DC) plans for small businesses.

Education and guidance to influence how plan participants engage with their retirement plans are particularly important as 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans are the largest anticipated source of retirement income, Guardian says. Several features— a dashboard with easy access to key retirement plan health statistics, enhanced reporting options, intuitive navigation and a resource library—aim to improve the overall experience for plan sponsors, third-party administrators (TPAs) and plan participants.

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The Guardian IncomeConnect Calculator alerts plan participants in real-time if they are on target to meet their retirement goals. In its recent RetireWell study on small plans, Guardian found that individuals are likely to contribute more to their 401(k)s if they know how much their current contributions will provide in future retirement income. The calculator translates current savings into retirement income and provides a real-time gap analysis. If a savings shortfall is detected, the website suggests educational tools and resources to help the plan participant close the gap. 

Guardian says the website will reduce the administrative burden on financial professionals, TPAs and plan sponsors, and enable them to review plan data and indicators for a snapshot of what’s happening in the plan at any point in time. The website also now offers eDelivery for plan sponsor summary statements and participant quarterly statements.

The RetireWell Study found a general level of satisfaction among Americans for their 401(k) plans, but also revealed that most do not take full advantage of the benefits, points out Douglas Dubitsky, vice president of Guardian Retirement Solutions. “Guardian has redesigned our site to improve our clients’ Web experience so that it’s easier and faster to retrieve important plan information in real time,” he explains. “Participants may be more engaged with their 401(k)s if their retirement plan information and educational resources are easy to access and understand.”  

More information about the site’s enhancements is on Guardian’s website.
 
Data and Research August 4, 2015

Supporting Family Remains a Retirement Challenge

Americans who support an aging parent or an adult child give an average of $12,000 a year to their family members.
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One in five (22%) Americans support an aging parent and/or an adult child, with these “financial supporters” spending an average of $12,000 a year to help their family, TD Ameritrade found in its 2015 Financial Support survey.

While only 22% said they need to dip into their savings to help their family members and only 30% made small sacrifices and lived more frugally, financial supporters hold nearly $100,000 in debt. This includes $22,000 in credit card balances, personal lines of credit or student loans, and $75,000 in mortgage debt.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of financial supporters say they are very glad to help a parent, and 53% are very glad to help a child. Just over one-third (36%) would delay their retirement to financially support their adult children. A majority (69%) of financial supporters plan to continue supporting their adult children until they find well-paying jobs.

Financial supporters are nearly twice as likely to support a mother (43%) than a father (23%), giving their mothers $5,000 more in support each year.

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Conversations about financial support happen when a family member asks for help, with 44% of financial supporters’ parents having asked for help and 52% of children having asked for help. However, 79% of financial supporters have not discussed their support of others with a financial professional.

“The financial downside of living longer may mean not only planning for our own extended retirement years, but also caring for aging family members in ways that can take a solid bite out of any well-laid plans,” says Matthew Sadowsky, director of retirement at TD Ameritrade.

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