P&I and DCIIA recently gave out innovation awards to seven plan sponsors — mostly large companies — aimed at improving education, participation and account balances through simpler and more effective techniques. Employing a combination of new technology and ancient techniques, the employers were cited for the following activities:
• Reenrollment of a 55,000-employee company while streamlining the investment menu and adding custom TDFs
• Including lifetime income illustrations — in LARGE type
• Using iPads to engage participants on retirement readiness
• Customizing a campaign not just by age but by ethnicity and education, and employing Skype to reach remote locations
• Hosting a takeoff on “Family Feud” to engage first-generation participants
Though we all search for the next big idea, DCIIA executive director Lew Minsky suggested that progress will come from tireless efforts to move forward that may seem risky at the time. Only infinite patience produces immediate results.
