Lack of Education Could Result in Greater Long-Term Health Costs

Only 33% of employees surveyed by Maestro Health say they completely understand the health coverage offered through their employers, and 62% indicated they feel their employer does not serve as a resource for their health care-related questions.

A Maestro Health survey of 1,000 employees found 68% say the cost of health care has gone up in the past three years.

Only 33% of respondents say they completely understand the health coverage offered through their employers. In addition, 62% of respondents indicated they feel their employer does not serve as a resource for their health care-related questions.

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This lack of understanding and education could result in greater long-term health costs for both employees and employers. Thirty-nine percent of respondents have chosen not to go to the doctor to avoid costs.

The survey also found that 44% of respondents say their employer doesn’t offer anything outside of health benefits—such as a physical wellness program—for employees to meet their health goals. Six in 10 say financial incentives would make them more willing to improve their health regime.

Maestro Health says the results suggest there is still much work to be done to improve employers’ involvement in educating, empowering and motivating their employee base when it comes to their health.

More survey results may be found here.

2018 DC Survey Standouts

Fourteen service providers to be recognized at the annual PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Awards for Excellence dinner March 28th.

Through PLANSPONSOR’s annual Defined Contribution Survey, 14 providers received the highest marks when defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors of all size plans nationwide answered the following question: How satisfied are you with your provider?

Nearly 3,500 responses were received and tabulated, 14 companies accumulated the greatest number of service “cups” in the survey’s six main asset classes ranging from “micro” plans with less than $5 million in assets to “mega” plans with more than $1 billion in assets. They are listed below; the numbers in parentheses are the number of best-in-class (BIC) awards:

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Micro (<$5MM )


Correll Co.
Gold (20 awards)

Securian Financial
Silver (17 awards)

Ascensus
Bronze (16 awards)



Small A ($5MM–$25MM)


Securian Financial
Gold (20 awards)

Ascensus
Silver, tied (16 awards)

Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group
Silver, tied (16 awards)



Small B (>$25MM–$50MM)


Empower Retirement
Gold (21 awards)

Newport Group
Silver (20 awards)

Charles Schwab
Bronze (14 awards)



Mid (>$50MM–$200MM)


Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Gold (18 awards)

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services
Silver (16 awards)

Charles Schwab
Bronze (14 awards)



Large (>$200MM–$1B)


Milliman, Inc.
Gold (21 awards)

Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Silver, tied (16 awards)

VALIC
Silver, tied (16 awards)



Mega (>$1B


Charles Schwab
Gold (23 awards)

Voya Financial
Silver (15 awards)

T. Rowe Price
Bronze (12 awards)


The survey results relating to provider satisfaction will be published in the February–March 2019 issue of PLANSPONSOR. The industry data from the same survey were profiled in the October–November 2018 issue of PLANSPONSOR magazine and can be viewed in the 2018 PLANSPONSOR DC Benchmarking Survey.

The companies will be recognized at the annual 2019 PLANSPONSOR/PLANADVISER Excellence in Retirement Awards dinner event in New York City. This networking event celebrates the accomplishments of the best of the best in the retirement plan industry. Each year, the nation’s leading retirement plan sponsors and advisers, as well as the top product, investment and service providers are honored at this exclusive gathering, hosted at the beautiful Pier 60 in the Chelsea Pier complex, overlooking the Hudson River.

“We created the Awards for Excellence dinner to recognize not only the standouts in the DC provider community, but we also honor plan sponsors, advisers and investment managers that demonstrated exceptional performance in 2018,” says Alison Cooke Mintzer, editor-in-chief of PLANSPONSOR and PLANADVISER.

For more information about the dinner and list of winners, visit here.

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