SURVEY SAYS: Staying Educated

Last week, I asked NewsDash readeers, how do you keep yourself educated about these things?

Nearly three-fourths (73.7%) of responding readers work in a plan sponsor capacity, while 10.5% are advisers or consultants and 15.8% work in a TPA/recordkeeper/investment manager capacity.

Asked which method/tool they use to keep themselves educated about plan design and administrative trends and best practices, as well as new rules and legislation, “industry magazines and/or websites” was selected by the largest percentage of readers (84.2%). And, though our intent for asking this question was not to garner kudos for us, I promise, among the respondents who selected “other,” most listed PLANSPONSOR or NewsDash as their resource for staying up-to-date. Thank you!

Nearly 80% of responding readers said industry webcasts were a source of education for them, and 60.5% said meetings or calls with advisers/consultants kept them educated. Fifty-five percent chose industry seminars and conferences—with one of the “other” respondents specifying the PLANSPONSOR National Conference; 47.4% chose “meetings or calls with providers/TPAs” and 42.1% selected “certification programs and the continuing education for them.”  

Updates from legal counsel and general financial publications were listed with the “other” responses. Only 8% of respondents selected books as a source of staying educated. Among those, a respondent suggested the 401(k) Answer Book and the 2015 Pension Answer Book, which is updated annually. One respondent said books are outdated by the time they go to print, and another suggested education by Dr. Seuss in “One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent.”

Among comments about staying educated about retirement plan trends, administration and compliance were more kudos for PLANSPONSOR and NewsDash. Again, we thank you. Commenters noted how staying up-to-date is so necessary due to the constantly changing landscape of our business. One reader suggested learning from peers at other companies. Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said: “Sometimes the school of hard knocks is a good place to learn – this industry ain’t one of those places.”

Verbatim 

It's part of the job, you have to keep current for compliance purposes, and to be an employer of choice.

There's a lot to learn and its seems to be always changing.

I love NewsDash because it gives me such a wealth of information in a condensed, convenient format. I've learned info. from these e-mails even before our Plan Rep notified us. I've even asked them about info presented on NewsDash, and they had to go check on it, because they hadn't heard about it. (They should read NewsDash...) 🙂

ALWAYS READ ARTICLES REGARDING THE LATEST CHANGES AND TRY TO KEEP USPDATED DUE TO THE ALWAYS CHANGING WAYS OF RETIREMENT PLAN ADMINISTRATION. NEWS DASH DOES A GOOD JOB OF THAT I LOOK FORWARD TO REVIEWING IT EACH MORNING TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE RETIREMENT WORLD!

The daily NewsDash is my favorite - easy to browse through over my morning coffee & I love being able to save & share articles with colleagues. Thank you! 🙂

Learning from peers at other companies is my preferred method for staying on top of industry trends. Receiving alerts (typically from online resources) keeps us up to date on compliance regs - and we typically do much of the research ourselves before meeting with attorneys to make sure we've properly interpreted the information.

There are so many choices, just don't stop.

It is tough to keep up with everything, especially when the retirement plan is just one small piece of my responsibilities. It really makes me appreciate our consultants!

I wish the decision makers and budget managers at my company would approve more seminars and conferences. I think we rely too heavily on investment advisers, TPAs and consultants.

It's gotta be done.

PLANSPONSOR and NewsDash are the best!!

It's the first thing I do, click on my daily sites. It takes a few minutes to scan the headlines and keeps me current. My experience working in this industry has been self-education.

Sometimes the school of hard knocks is a good place to learn - this industry ain't one of those places.