Eddy Awards celebrate defined contributionjob well done

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Increasing participation rates and explaining new automatic enrollment programs dominated the campaigns of many of the 2008 Eddy Award winners.

Several winners saw dramatic increases in their plan enrollment rates and attendance at workshops.

The Eddy Awards, sponsored by Pensions & Investments, were presented March 3 at the P&I Defined Contribution/401(k) Conference in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

The awards honor superior education campaigns of defined contribution plan sponsors (corporate, public, union and not-for-profit plans) and, for the first time, service providers. They recognize the best practices in delivering effective investment education messages to defined contribution plan participants. To win, plan sponsors and service providers must find a creative way to give employees a thorough education in investing.

Judges, many of whom are 401(k) plan executives, awarded a total of 59 Eddys to plan sponsors and service providers in initial education, conversions, ongoing education, special projects and other media.

In the category of initial education for corporate plans, judges awarded first place to Phillips-Van Heusen Corp., New York. Tammie Palchanes, director of corporate benefits, said the $120 million 401(k) plan wanted to go above and beyond in making sure employees got as much education as possible without being overwhelmed.

“We have a huge retail environment with young, lower-paid workers and union and manufacturing employees. It's a very varied population. We went from pretty good in the corporate area to dismal in retail. Our big goal in the move was to increase participation,” said Ms. Palchanes.

In the conversion category for plan sponsors, Veolia Water, Houston, won first place. Chris Chisholm, chief financial officer, said officials of the $280 million worked hard on getting all the different images together and making them click.

We wanted the brochures and postcard to grab our employees' attention. I think it came out great,” said Mr. Chisholm. PartnerComm Inc., Dallas, and Wells Fargo Institutional Trust Co., San Francisco, were the service providers.

Ongoing education campaigns yielded the most awards for the 2008 Eddy Awards.

For corporate plans with more than 5,000 employees, Landmark Communications Inc., Norfolk, Va., took first in ongoing education. Judges especially liked that the $190 million 401(k) plan targeted different age groups with photos and messages. The Vanguard Group, Malvern, Pa., is Landmark's service provider.

ICF International Inc., Fairfax, Va., won first for ongoing education for corporate plans with 1,000 to 5,000 employees.

Jean Waxman, benefits director, said the $100 million 401(k) plan takes retirement education very seriously. “We're of the position that we are a growing company, and we want to move ahead, but don't want to leave anyone behind. We want to reach out to all people and make sure they make the most of the plan,” she said. Vanguard was the service provider that assisted ICF.

First place for corporate plans with fewer than 1,000 employees went to ILC Data Device Corp., Bohemia, N.Y., for its 401(k) Day campaign that lasted all year. Sun Life Retirement Systems, now Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Hartford, Conn., was ILC's service provider.

Said Leanne Willmer, ILC's corporate financial accountant: “They (employees) loved it. We had it in both of our main divisions and other sites. They made sure they got all the goodies, but they also came away with important information. We were really happy with the turnout.” About 75% of employees participated in the event, she said.

Trinity Health, Farmington Hills, Mich., won first place for not-for-profit plans in ongoing education — one of three first-place trophies Trinity won this year.

The ongoing education campaign featured a customized, well-branded mailer that used graphics of different animals.

“Everyone is used to seeing pharmacists, so we thought we would do something light and fun. And it went over really well,” said Silvia Frank, manager of defined contribution for the $850 million 403(b) plan. Diversified Investment Advisors, Purchase, N.Y., is Trinity's service provider.

For the special projects category, Universal Orlando, Orlando, Fla., won first place for corporate plans with more than 5,000 employees.

Universal Orlando had the challenge of reaching out to a mobile, younger work force, said Sue Steck, director of benefits for the $200 million 401(k) plan.

“It's hard to get the attention of people when they work in a theme park, so we had to come up with something unique. We wanted it to have the friendliness of Universal with a non-intimidating nature. We wanted to make sure they weren't intimidated by the financial aspect of the campaign,” said Ms. Steck. Charles Schwab Corporate Services Inc., San Francisco, is the plan's provider.

Judges awarded Ball Horticultural Co., West Chicago, Ill., first place in ongoing education for plans with fewer than 1,000 employees.

“We had to create some excitement and get them (employees) to the enrollment meetings to get their attention. The baseball campaign turned out really well because it was something different. We offered some prizes if you came to the enrollment meeting. It piqued their curiosity and interest,” said Todd Frauendorfer, treasurer and corporate secretary of the $55 million 401(k) plan. Schwab is the plan’s bundled provider.

Nebraska Methodist Health System, Omaha, and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles won first and second place, respectively, for not-for-profit special projects.

Paula Dix, human resources manager for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, said a lot of employees were not making the best use of the plan.

“We knew we had to do something catchy. When I first got here, we would have meetings and no one would show up. It’s challenging in a hospital because there are so many things competing for their (employees’) attention,” said Ms. Dix.

Trinity Health executives picked up their second award in a first-place tie with Park Nicollet Health Services, St. Louis Park, Minn., for special projects. Trinity also won first among not-for-profit plans for a video entered in the “other media” category.

“The video was really my passion,” said Ms. Frank. “It was challenging to do so many campaigns at once, but it was well worth it. We just had to juggle things and it came together beautifully.”

Both campaigns featured Trinity’s new mascot, Stickie. In the video, Ms. Franks interacts with the stick figure. Judges were enchanted. “This is the quietest we’ve been in two days of judging,” one judge commented while watching the video.

Kroger Co., Cincinnati, won first place among corporate plans in “other media” for a campaign that cleverly tied in grocery shopping habits with people’s investment habits.

Michael Stoll, vice president of corporate and deferred benefits, said officials at the $3 billion plan wanted to do something special since freezing the cash balance plan in 2006.

“We started offering our first match (for the 401(k) plan) and it was important to get the word out,” said Mr. Stoll. Mercer Inc., New York, is the plan’s provider.

Twenty-nine awards were given to service providers.

JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services, New York, was the big winner, picking up five awards.

Jacqueline Meere, spokeswoman for JPMorgan, said the firm is very pleased to be recognized, but she said much of the credit must go to the plan executives involved: “They are an integral part of the process and we accept these awards on their behalf.”

Vanguard, Fidelity Investments, Boston, and CitiStreet, Boston, picked up three awards each.

Cynthia Spink, education specialist for Vanguard, said the firm works extremely closely with the benefits teams of its clients.

“We want to make it as tailored as possible. We want employees to see the materials and relate to them right away,” said Ms. Spink.

Among the awards, Vanguard won first place for Estes Express Lines, in the ongoing education category. The plan featured a baseball theme that urged participants to increase their deferral rates.

Contact Jenna Gottlieb at [email protected]