Eddy winners double, triple their fun

Attendees at this year's Eddy Awards presentation, sponsored by Pensions & Investments, could be forgiven if they thought they were seeing double — or even triple.

Among plan sponsors, Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Michigan, Lansing, produced three winners in the 23rd annual contest, which honors the best in defined contribution plan education and communication campaigns.

The California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, had a pair of winning entries, as did the Employees Retirement System of Texas, Austin.

And among service providers for generic campaigns unaffiliated with specific sponsors, Vanguard Group Inc., Malvern, Pa., produced triplets: a first- and second-place award for special projects as well as a first-place award for ongoing education. TIAA-CREF, New York, also produced twins: first- and second-place awards in the retirement readiness category.

In all, 53 education programs were cited. Awards were presented March 20 at P&I's East Coast Defined Contribution Conference in Miami.

The Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Michigan had a diversified portfolio of contest victories — first place in the retirement readiness category for public plans with more than 5,000 employees; a tie for second in the special projects category for public plans with more than 5,000 employees; and third place for public plans in the ongoing investment education competition.

For retirement readiness, MERS sent participants a retirement snapshot incorporating salary, projected salary to age 62 and total annual income in retirement. The snapshot then explained the odds of achieving the recommended income replacement rate each year in retirement.

“We want to make sure they understand where they stood on the path to retirement readiness,” explained Jennifer Mausolf, marketing and product development director. MERS used striking colors and infographics to make the information appear less daunting.

For its special project entry, MERS used humor and cartoon design for a series of posters and postcards for monthly reminders on key retirement account issues. “Fright Proof Your Portfolio,” with a cartoon ghost was published around Halloween, reminding participants to stick with a long-term investing plan amid market volatility. The “Sit. Stay. Roll Over!” campaign, featuring an attentive cartoon dog, encouraged participants to move retirement assets from a previous employer into MERS.

And the ongoing investment education offered a brief video (with music from a Michael Jackson song) on making sure participants didn't put all their eggs in one basket — an appeal for diversified investing and the use of target-date funds.

Caltech won first place in the ongoing investment education category for not-for-profit organizations with more than 5,000 employees, and it tied for first in the not-for-profit special projects category. TIAA was the service provider for both entries. (The University of California was the other first-place winner in the special projects category; its service provider was Fidelity Investments).

For ongoing education, Caltech built upon its “The Science of Benefits” theme to appeal to its scientist/engineer employees using color photos from Caltech labs and offering brochures designed with headlines that mimic the periodic table. Thus, OT represented online tools, EP stood for estate planning and, of course, SB identified science of benefits for Caltech's 403(b) and 457 plans.

“We wanted to draw attention,” said Ofelia Velazquez-Perez, senior lead, employee and organizational development and special projects, explaining why Caltech switched to a more colorful approach from campaigns with black and white stock photos. “We went with images that resonated.”

Caltech also offered a series of workshops, including “Managing Your Retirement Plan Shouldn't Be Rocket Science.”

Caltech's special projects entry featured videos of participants talking about their plans for the future, augmented by a graphic artist who drew pictures of participants as they were talking. Caltech used some of the videos in its retirement planning education efforts for the theme, “Picture Your Financial Future.”

Because the word “retirement” doesn't register with everyone, especially younger workers, “we asked about their financial future,” Ms. Velazquez-Perez said. “I still see some of the caricatures on bulletin boards on campus.”

The Employees Retirement System of Texas won two awards — first and third place — in the same category, special projects for public plans with more than 5,000 employees. Empower was the service provider for both.

United Parcel Service Inc., Atlanta, had to adjust its communication approach about its retirement system to the young workers of Coyote Logistics after that company was acquired by UPS.

“We are more conservative; they are more informal,” said Robert Wright, defined contribution manager. Because the average age of Coyote employees is 28, “we tried to do it (education) in their language and use their terminology.”

UPS even referred to them as Coyotes because that's what they called themselves at the independent company. Coyotes were encouraged to enroll in the UPS plan through a special microsite. “We wanted to give them information so they could get in right away,” Mr. Wright said.

Although the acquisition closed in August 2015, UPS allowed the Coyote plan to remain separate for a while. In May 2016, UPS began communicating with Coyote employees to prepare them for joining the UPS system in July.

Mr. Wright's efforts won first place for corporate plans in the plan transitions category. Voya Financial was the service provider.

The Employees Retirement System of Texas, which won a first-place and third-place award in the same category — special projects for public plans with more than 5,000 employees. Empower was the service provider for both.

In first place, the Texa$aver 401(k) and 457 plans used a DIY — Decide to Invest in Yourself — theme equating retirement planning to home improvements. Print, web-based and benefits-fair communications counseled participants to perform their retirement chores as small projects.

Illustrations of paint cans were a recurring component of the campaign, reinforcing the goal of a retirement makeover, said Nora Alvarado, manager of health and welfare administration and deferred compensation. “We wanted to be more colorful: How do you paint your retirement picture?” she said.

Its third-place winning entry was called “Stay in the Family,” encouraging participants nearing retirement to keep their money in the plans when they retire instead of rolling it into an individual retirement account. “We wanted to create and reinforce relationships before people retire,” Ms. Alvarado said.

There was a healthy dose of medicine at this year's awards presentation as five health-care institutions were honored.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn., chose a non-medical approach that won first place in the ongoing investment education category for not-for-profit organizations with 1,000 to 5,000 employees. (TIAA was the service provider.)

“Some things were meant to go together,” said one brochure identifying peanut butter and jelly, complete with photo. “Or like you and St. Jude saving together for your future,” said the brochure. (Another example: “Sand on a beach and water in the ocean.”)

“Our intent was to show and reinforce our partnership with employees,” explained Demiko Branch Lewis, senior benefits analyst.

Retirement education campaigns are developed from meetings among top executives as well as conducting surveys with employees, she said. And when St. Jude rolled out its campaign, it held town hall meetings attended by the CEO and other top executives to highlight the importance of saving for retirement.

“Even Superheroes Want To Retire” was the theme for West Virginia University Hospitals/University Health Associates, Morgantown, to explain its reducing the number of record keepers to one (TIAA) from four. (TIAA was the service provider.)

“We wanted to highlight the miracles that our physicians, nurses and others do every day,” said Kymberly Gillespie, manager of employee health, benefits and employee/ labor relations. The campaign's brochures contained some pictures of employees. “The superheroes concept resonated with our employees.”

The campaign earned a second-place award in the conversions/consolidation category for not-for-profit plans.

The consolidation “was a very welcome change,” Ms. Gillespie said. “Employees were often confused with multiple providers.” She added the most popular component of the education campaign was one-on-one sessions with TIAA representatives during the transition — a practice that has continued monthly.

Hennepin Healthcare System Inc., Minneapolis, mixed humor and health care in a brochure that asked “Is Your Retirement Broken? Now's the Time to Set it Straight.” On the front of the brochure is an X-ray of a broken arm.

The brochure offers several fixes: telling participants to maximize contributions to Hennepin's 403(b) and 457 plans, consult the record keeper's (Wells Fargo) website to calculate current and projected savings, and talk to a Wells Fargo adviser. “If it's broke,” the brochure concludes, “fix it. FASTER.”

Hennepin likes an “edgier” education approach, not only for its retirement plan but for all communications, said Sue Roeser, director of human resources. Hennepin tied for second place in the not-for-profit special projects category.

Hennepin shared the award with Legacy Health, Portland Ore. (service provider: Lincoln Financial Group), which was cited for a campaign that targeted employees who had never enrolled in its 403(b) plan. McLaren Health Care Corp., Flint, Mich., won third place in this category for using local images and local people in its efforts to increase savings in its 403(b) and 401(k) plans. MassMutual Financial Group was the service provider.

Safelite Group Inc., Columbus, Ohio, emphasized brand identity — photos of employees at work — to educate participants about changing to Vanguard Group from Wells Fargo as record keeper for the Safelite Group Associates Retirement Savings Plan. Safelite won first place in the conversions/consolidations category for corporate plans with more than 5,000 employees.

“We use images of our people in all of our communications,” said Daryhl Pisano, benefits and shared services supervisor. The conversion campaign — Vanguard was the service provider — “was very well received,” she said. “It was a seamless transition, so they could concentrate on their jobs.”

Ms. Pisano said she was very proud of the interactive timeline that enabled participants to keep track of the transition's progress. “The information was easy to understand,” she said. To back up its communications, Vanguard held 26 onsite meetings over a four-day period.

The Beck Group, a Dallas architectural firm, used its corporate motto “Think. Design. Build,” plus examples of its work in a brochure to describe investment option changes and fee reductions. Photographs of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, and other construction/design projects served to “resonate” with employees, said Tori Coln, financial wellness benefits manager.

The company used its architectural motto to encourage participants to save more and save earlier, she said. A clean design was important, she said, because “you don't want to overwhelm folks with information.”

Ms. Coln said she didn't hear any complaints from employees. “Silence,” she said. “I take that as a compliment.”

The Beck Group (service provider: T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services Inc.) captured first place in the ongoing investment education category for corporate plans with fewer than 1,000 employees.

BMC Software Inc., Houston, continued to prove that a high-tech company can use a low-tech presentation to educate participants. Last year, BMC used versions of classic board games to win first place in the special projects category for companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees.

This year, BMC won another first-place award in the same category for another type of game — a casino theme at an on-site retirement education fair and another collaboration with SimplyConnect Consulting LLC.

Annie Dieu, senior benefits analyst, said the company wanted to make sure employees didn't associate retirement with gambling and vice versa. There was internal debate at BMC about the casino approach, but Ms. Dieu said the gamification concept attached to the theme “Play for your future” was well-received.

“We want them to think of retirement planning as a fun activity,” she said of employees who played casino games that featured trivia questions about retirement and investing. “Not daunting. Not a chore.”

For example, one game asked participants to wager on market performance, mutual fund investing or individual stock investing to illustrate risk and rewards. Another asked a series of questions using a deck of cards on topics such as distributions from plans and the benefits of early investing.

“Hopefully, the games will encourage them to go to (retirement education) seminars and one-on-one sessions,” she said.

Kern County, Bakersfield, Calif., used a humorous approach to discuss a serious subject — making sure participants took full advantage of a 6% matching contribution to the county's deferred compensation plan.

Enter “Agent Max,” a cartoon character imploring participants to complete their mission of maximizing the match. “For future retirees' eyes only,” states one website promotion, telling participants to click on the site “to see Max in action and learn how to potentially double your retirement savings.”

Agent Max helped Kern County, and its service provider, Empower Retirement, capture first place for special projects for public plans with 1,000 to 5,000 employees.

Jordan Kaufman, the Kern County treasurer-tax collector, said the Agent Max campaign used multiple media sources — a video, fliers, email and presentations to new hires. “It was a neat video,” said Mr. Kaufman, noting the video was produced at the same time the movie “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation'' was released. “It captures your attention and holds it,” he said.

The video instructs Agent Max to complete the task “Code Name: Catch The Match.” The video shows employees how to make the contributions via website links.