The deadline for the 2013 Eddy Awards is fast approaching.
All entries must be submitted by Oct. 15.
The awards, sponsored annually by Pensions & Investments, recognize plan sponsors and service providers that epitomize the best practices in providing investment education to defined contribution plan participants.
Entry forms are available online at www.pionline.com/eddy2013. There are separate forms for plan sponsors and service providers.
Three categories have been added to the 2013 Eddy Awards:
c plan transitions, for programs that help employees move to new defined contribution plans following mergers, acquisitions and spinoffs;
c retirement readiness, for educating participants about what steps they must take to have an adequate income at retirement; and
c automatic re-enrollment, for programs that educate employees about the process and benefits.
Eddy winners will be announced at P&I's annual East Coast Defined Contribution Conference, to be held March 10-12 at the InterContinental Miami hotel. They also will be honored at an exclusive dessert party.
For the third year, the Eddy Awards integrate print and online investment education in all categories. Thus, a single entry may include not just printed materials like brochures, postcards, table tents and posters, but also websites, CD-ROMs, e-mails, videos and the like.
In addition to the three new ones, the 2013 Eddy Awards categories are:
c initial investment education;
c ongoing investment education;
c special projects;
c conversions to new record keepers; and
c fee disclosure and education.
Entries should include web access for judges, such as a temporary user ID and/or password valid through March 13, 2013.
All plan sponsor entries must include documentation that plan executives approved the submission (if they did not submit the entry).
For all plan sponsor entries, each category is divided by type of sponsor (corporate, public, union and not-for-profit) and by size. For service providers, each category is divided by size, and then by whether the entry was prepared for a specific client or is generic.
Service providers may enter the same investment education campaigns in their awards that their clients enter in the plan sponsor awards.
Winners of the 2012 Eddy Awards may not submit the same materials in the 2013 competition, although new materials are welcome from all past winners.
All entries, except those in the subcategory of “generic” for service providers, must contain customized materials clearly branded for a particular plan sponsor.
Each entry must be submitted with a separate entry form and in its own envelope. Multiple entries may be mailed in one package.
Judges — mostly DC plan executives — will consider, among other things, the effectiveness and completeness of the investment education program.
A letter containing evidence of the effectiveness, such as an increase in participation, must accompany the entry.
Complete rules and entry forms are available at www.pionline.com/ eddy2013. n