Dfining Rtirmnt Succss for Dfind Contribution Plan Sponsors: Bgin with th End in Mind David Blanchtt, CFA, CFP, AIFA Had of Rtirmnt Rsarch Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt david.blanchtt@morningstar.com Nathan Voris Larg Markt Practic Ladr Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt nathan.voris@morningstar.com Fbruary 11, 2014
Abstract How do you dfin rtirmnt succss? For many individuals and housholds th concpt of rtirmnt succss is somwhat abstract. It can man diffrnt things and b quantifid in diffrnt ways. For xampl, rtirmnt succss from an accumulation prspctiv might man saving nough for rtirmnt. For a rtir, it could man achiving th dsird standard of living ovr on s liftim. For a financial plannr, it could man achiving a goal with som targt probability of succss. In ach cas, th prspctiv of th individual (or ntity) hlps dfin what is a succssful outcom. In this papr, w tak th prspctiv of a dfind contribution (DC) plan sponsor and outlin ky things a plan sponsor can do to hlp maximiz th liklihood of its mploys achiving a succssful rtirmnt outcom (howvr it is dfind). Taking th prspctiv of a plan sponsor is important, sinc plan sponsors hav considrabl ability to impact mploy outcoms. Unlik othr countris, such as Australia or Grat Britain, that ar moving toward mandatd saving schms, in th Unitd Stats, saving for rtirmnt and dvloping a rtirmnt incom stratgy is an individual dcision. W outlin bst practics for plan sponsors focusd on maximizing participant rtirmnt succss, both during accumulation and rtirmnt (i.., dcumulation). Whil crtain activitis, lik slcting th optimal plan invstmnts, ar an important componnt of th optimal DC structur, thy ar only on part of a much largr and mor complx puzzl. 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 2 of 12
Sav Enough. Invst Bttr. Spnd Smartr. Rtirmnt is prsonal, with ach individual s situation slightly diffrnt from th nxt. Two mploys of th sam ag and with th sam job who on th surfac may appar to hav idntical invsting goals and nds in rtirmnt, may in fact b vry diffrnt upon closr xamination. Factors such as marriag status, housing situation, lifstyl nds, tc. can all contribut to ths potntial diffrncs. With th ris of th DC plan, ach participant is largly lft to himslf or hrslf to figur out how to adquatly prpar for rtirmnt. Whn DC plans first startd gaining traction, th assumption was that mploys wr capabl of making ths dcisions. Howvr, numrous studis now suggst othrwis, and th ovrall public prcption of DC plans is mixd. Employrs, particularly largr mployrs, ar wll positiond to offr bttr solutions than thir mploys might b abl to find on thir own as conomis of scal driv down fs on invstmnts and financial advic. Furthr, whr a prson works and what h or sh dos for a living affcts th rtirmnt nd. Employrs know thir popl, and with th hlp of consultants and DC xprts thy can crat customizd solutions that mt mploy nds. W highlight svral ky considrations that can hlp mov a plan forward and position mploys for rtirmnt succss for mployrs who mbrac thir rol in prparing thir mploys for rtirmnt, and striv to go byond thir fiduciary obligations. W brak ths ky considrations into two catgoris: accumulation and distribution. Whil many of th sam considrations apply to both stags, mployrs oftn prciv ths two priods as fundamntally distinct. In this papr, w will try to highlight th ky diffrncs in ach, covring th bulk in th accumulation sction. 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 3 of 12
Accumulation In this sction, w discuss som of th ky considrations for a DC plan sponsor intrstd in hlping mploys prpar for rtirmnt. 1. Build for Bhavior Th ky is to dsign a program that hlps mak it asy for mploys to mak th right dcisions. A fw concpts includ: Mak it Automatic Th potntial bnfits of automatically nrolling participants and automatically scalating participant dfrrals ar wll documntd. Participants tnd to tak th path of last rsistanc and viw plan dfaults as bing at last implicitly ndorsd by th plan sponsor. Dfaults ar an important considration in any typ of auto arrangmnt. Many plans that wr arly adoptrs of automatic nrollmnt slctd dfrral dfaults that wr too small, with 3% bing vry common. W bliv moving byond th standard 3% dfault dfrral rat to a mor impactful savings rat is paramount in making auto programs truly succssful and allowing participants to rach thir rtirmnt goals. Rsarch by Choi, Laibson, Madrian, and Mtrick (2004) 1 has dmonstratd thr is vry littl ffct on participant adoption whn moving th dfault from 3% to 6%. Th ky is stting a dfault savings rat that is both maningful and likly to b adoptd by participants, and for th vast majority of DC plans, this numbr is probably 6% or highr. Mov th Carrot Popl tnd to lik fr stuff, spcially fr mony. That s why many participants will sav up to th mployr match and no mor. For companis that ar unabl to incras th amount of dollars allocatd to making matching contributions, it may mak sns to chang th match schdul. For xampl, instad of matching 100% on th first 3% of mploy dfrrals, match 50% on th first 6%, or vn 25% on th first 12%. Ths lowr match schduls do a bttr job gtting mploys to shar th load whn it coms to funding rtirmnt. Th optimal match schdul is likly diffrnt for ach company and thrfor will vary by plan sponsor. Ths rlativly small changs, though, can hav a big impact on participant outcoms. A participant who was only saving 3% to gt th full mployr match who movs to saving 6% to gt th sam matching bnfits, will hav a 50% largr account balanc at rtirmnt bcaus of this chang. In this xampl, th plan sponsor achivd bttr participant bhavior (i.., highr savings rats) through plan dsign modifications at no additional cost. On Part of th Bnfits Packag Halth insuranc covrag is not a on and don dcision lik DC plans. Instad, ach mploy must go in onc a yar, usually in th fall, and ithr r-confirm xisting covrag or slct nw halth covrag. 1 Choi, Jams J., David Laibson, Brigitt C. Madrian, and Andrw Mtrick. Saving for Rtirmnt on th Path of Last Rsistanc, July 19, 2004 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 4 of 12
Plan sponsors should lvrag th wll-worn path of annual nrollmnt, by making rtirmnt dcisions an additional considration during th procss. Somthing as simpl as tlling ach mploy, that thos who ar not nrolld in th plan will b r-nrolld at th dfault savings rat ach yar, will hlp scoop up mploys who ithr dcidd not join th plan initially or hav sinc optd out. A plan sponsor could vn go as far as r-nrolling th plan ach yar into th ag-appropriat QDIA option (prsumably a targt-dat fund) unlss th mploy lcts othrwis Ths small changs to th fourth quartr of th yar could potntially yild vry powrful rsults for plan participants. 2. Thoughtful Invstmnt Mnus Invstmnt mnu dsign is an important componnt of managing a DC program. Bcaus of th natur of slf-dirctd programs, and th plan sponsor s fiduciary liability attachd to invstmnt dcisions, invstmnts oftn gt th majority of plan sponsor attntion. It s no surpris many of th committs cratd to monitor th plan hav vry spcific titls lik Invstmnt Committ vrsus mor broad nams lik Plan Ovrsight Committ. Many plan sponsors spnd significant tim rviwing dtaild prformanc statistics on plan invstmnts, such as alpha, information ratio, Sharp ratio, tracking rror, tc., ach quartr, whil dvoting littl tim to participant succss. Hr ar a fw guidposts to considr whn dvloping a plan mnu to optimiz participant outcoms as wll invstmnt prformanc: Covr th Basics Offring th cor building blocks that should b in ach plan. W dfin ths as fiv asst classs: cash (.g., stabl valu or mony markt), bonds, domstic larg cap quity, domstic small-cap quity, and intrnational. Having singl options that rprsnt ach asst class is an important stp to avoiding unncssary complxity and ovrlap. Largr plans could potntially considr whit labls or multimanagr structurs that mak it simplr for th participant. Go Byond th Basics Offring broad, divrsifid xposur to non-cor asst classs lik TIPS, commoditis, ral stat, and mrging markts, in a bundld and simpl fashion can also bnfit participants. Balanc Dsign Many mnus today hav quity-focusd invstmnt mnus with mor than 10 quity options, but fw incom options. This ovrwight to quitis may snd signals to th participant that quitis ar mor important than fixd incom. Rthink th Styl Box Th styl box provids a rasonabl starting point whn contrasting th diffrnt markt xposurs for invstmnts, but most participants can t intlligntly articulat th diffrncs btwn growth and valu. Thrfor, it isn t a rquirmnt to fill ach box of th styl box. Rathr, assmbl a linup of invstmnts that nabls participants to crat a divrsifid portfolio. 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 5 of 12
Minimiz or Eliminat Employr Stock Thr ar many rasons this maks sns. You can find our rsarch and prspctiv hr: http:// corporat.morningstar.com/ib/documnts/mthodologydocumnts/rsarchpaprs/employr-stock- Ownrship-in-401k-Plans.pdf Look at Targt-Dat Funds Targt-dat funds hav xplodd in popularity following passag of th Pnsion Protction Act of 2006. Not surprisingly, targt-dat funds now rciv th majority of flows for DC plans using thm as th dfault option, and will likly continu to rciv significant attntion in th procss. Managmnt consulting firm Casy, Quirk & Associats stimats that targt-dat funds will rprsnt narly half of th projctd $7.7 trillion in U.S. DC assts by 2020 many plans that wr arly adoptrs may alrady hav ovr half of plan assts in targt-dat funds. Thrfor, it s critical for plan sponsors to hav a du dilignc procss for slcting and monitoring targt-dat funds. Considr Advic and Managd Accounts Offring an advic and managd account srvic can not only hlp participants dtrmin an appropriat allocation among th plan s invstmnts, but also hlp thm st an optimal savings rat and a goal for rtirmnt incom. 3. Educat This mans going byond th standard invstmnt mnu, and highlighting th rsourcs, tools, and solutions that can hlp craft invstmnt and savings rcommndations that will rsonat with participants Communications Mov From What to How Participant communications ar oftn ovrly complx, attmpting to xplain th nuts and bolts of how ach aspct of th plan works in grat dtail, or dsignd to chck th lgal box. Participants oftn don t rad ths matrials or simply don t car (how many vn rviw thir quartrly statmnts?). Thrfor, what fw communications go out should b simpl and focusd on what rally crats bttr outcoms. For xampl, a participant is much bttr srvd rciving a on-pag mailr about how to sav for rtirmnt or what thir optimal savings rat should b, rathr than a fiv-pag documnt outlining th formula for dtrmining th monthly crditing rat for thir stabl valu fund. Financial Wllnss Today Gtting a handl on paying off high intrst crdit cards and studnt loans may b a mor important goal than socking away mony for rtirmnt for som participants. Th intrst rats on crdit cards can xcd 20%, which is a much highr rturn than on can b rasonably xpctd to arn through invsting in stocks or bonds. Our rsarch on th topic of crdit card dbt and saving for rtirmnt can b found hr: http://corporat.morningstar.com/ib/documnts/mthodology- Documnts/IBBAssociats/SavingforRtirmntCrditCards.pdf. 2 Furthrmor, intgrating financial wllnss programs lik HlloWallt into th rtirmnt quation provids a mor holistic solution than is th norm today. 2 http://corporat.morningstar.com/ib/documnts/mthodologydocumnts/ibbassociats/savingforrtirmntcrditcards.pdf 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 6 of 12
4. Customiz Evry plan is diffrnt, yt most plan sponsors slct on from among only a handful of targt-dat providrs. On Siz Dos Not Fit All Whil custom targt-dat funds may not mak sns conomically for som plan sponsors, thy should b considrd for largr plan sponsors with $100 million or mor in plan assts. Th bnfits of using company-spcific, plan-spcific, and participant-spcific data in plac of national avrags and gnral assumptions ar clar. Bcaus custom targt-dat funds ar constructd from th xisting linup, thy also lvrag th du dilignc prviously don on th cor mnu. This topic is covrd in gratr dtail in Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt s Insights nwslttr 3 as wll as in a forthcoming papr by Morningstar. 5. Kp it Togthr Plan lakag is an important problm for plan sponsors. Whil things lik hardship distributions and loans can provid a valuabl sourc of liquidity for som mploys, thy pos dfinit risks to rtirmnt radinss. For xampl, rsarch by Aon Hwitt (2011) 4 suggsts that rmoving mony from a rtirmnt plan can dcras a participant s xpctd walth at rtirmnt by as much as 67%, in som cass. Thr has bn nw rsarch on this topic ovr th past fw yars, with th primary focus on stopping participant lakag through intllignt plan dsign by limiting provisions such as loans and hardships. DCIAA has a grat rsarch papr that addrsss th impact of lakag and possibl solutions that is availabl hr: http://www.dciia.org/info/publications/documnts/dciia%20 Plug%20th%20Drain.pdf 5. 6. Gt What You Paid For Running a rtirmnt plan costs mony, from administration fs, fund xpnss, consultant fs, managd account fs, and th list gos on. For ach itm on that list, a plan sponsor can gt sud for not proprly monitoring th costs to nsur thy ar rasonabl. Furthrmor, sponsors want to mak sur thy ar actually gtting valu/srvic for th costs incurrd. A fw things to considr that should b don at appropriat intrvals: Invstmnt Expns Comparisons A pr group comparison of th invstmnt-only xpnss is only on part of th total costs of a DC plan. And watch th pr group. Th pr group for a $5 billion DC plan is vastly diffrnt than a $50 million DC plan. This is asy information for a consultant or providr to gathr, and should b dlivrd on a quartrly basis. Administration Expnss RFPs ar tim consuming; but thy narly always rsult in a bttr pric, mor srvic, and oftn both. Don t lt your providr run th plan; thy ar not th fiduciary. It is important to ask your providr for a dtaild f analysis of all plan fs on an annual basis. 3 https://corporat.morningstar.com/us/documnts/mthodologydocumnts/rsarchpaprs/rtirmnt-insights.pdf 4 http://www.aon.com/attachmnts/thought-ladrship/survy_asst_lakag.pdf 5 http://www.dciia.org/info/publications/documnts/dciia%20plug%20th%20drain.pdf 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 7 of 12
How Ar Fs Paid? Unvn xpns arrangmnts, with fs through rvnu sharing, brokrag fs, tc., rathr than a mor pur administrativ f, ar undr scrutiny mor and mor. Th big qustion: should a participant who uss a product/srvic that happns to carry rvnu sharing, or gnrat som f, pay mor for th administration of th plan? W bliv th answr is no, and that a lvl, balancd administrativ f approach is th most prudnt. Within this contxt it s important to nsur som participants arn t subsidizing th plan cost for othrs by invsting in funds with highr rvnu sharing. Ar You Gtting Good Invstmnt Advic? Consultants giv invstmnt rcommndations, do quartrly rviws, and monitor thir rcommndations. Onc upon a tim, indpndnt information and data about invstmnts was hard to com by; howvr, with vast amounts of data and analytics tools availabl on th wb, thos days ar gon. How do you know if your consultant is giving you high-quality advic that is worth th f? It s a tough qustion, with no asy answr; but a fw idas that could b usful: Captain s Log If a fund is bing rplacd for prformanc rasons, continu to kp track of that fund and compar th futur prformanc of th two funds. You can vn rqust that an appndix b addd to th quartrly prformanc book with all th rplacd funds and thir rlvant statistics. Mirror Procss Whn you rciv a rcommndation, focus on how th rcommndation was drivd, i.., what th procss was that lad to a particular fund rcommndation. Many consultants will provid a map of ach round of analysis, showing th total numbr of funds that wr liminatd basd upon ach of thir critria. Ask yourslf if thr is anything innovativ, propritary, or uniqu that maks this procss valuabl. Is it a simpl scrning procss, or ar qualitativ factors at play that add valu byond th data? Th Big Pictur It s asy for invstmnt consultants to dazzl plan sponsors with fancy statistics about invstmnt prformanc, but how dos all of it fit into th big pictur? Sur, crating alpha of 100 bps in a fund is grat, but how much of th assts ar actually in th fund? Is th fund suitabl for th plan participants? Is it bing usd appropriatly? Ths ar all qustions that should b addrssd within th gratr contxt of participant outcoms whn thinking about plan invstmnts. 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 8 of 12
Distribution In this sction, w discuss som of th ky considrations for a DC plan sponsor intrstd in hlping participants through rtirmnt. Whil many of th sam topics discussd in th Accumulation sction apply for this sction, w try to focus on thos uniqu to distribution in this sction. 1. Kp th Party Going You v bn a grat partnr to your mploys, providing a low-cost, fficint mans to hlp your mploys sav for rtirmnt. Kp it going by allowing thm to continu to us th DC plan as a vhicl for thir nds in rtirmnt: Low Cost Your mploys may not b abl to do bttr, from a f prspctiv, than what you hav bn abl to provid by lvraging th scal and buying powr of th plan as a whol. Sound Advic Managd account srvics can offr comprhnsiv, customizd distribution rcommndations to participants that can includ appropriat rcommndations to an annuity, if availabl in th plan. Rtirs Hlp Currnt Employs Administrativ costs ar typically pricd as a pr-participant f, and invstmnt xpnss ar typically asst-basd fs. In both instancs, having rtirs in th plan should lowr both th administrativ and invstmnt xpnss, bcaus mor popl in th plan lowrs avrag administrativ xpnss and rtir balancs tnd to b largr than activ mploys. So kping rtirs in th plan actually bnfits activ mploys as wll as th rtirs thmslvs. 2. Kp it Ral Th goal of many rtirs is to gnrat som amount of incom during rtirmnt, incrasd annually by inflation. Thrfor, inflation is a vry important considration whn working toward this goal. Ral assts, or asst classs that gnrally ris with inflation, can b valuabl invstmnt options for rtirs. Som xampls of common ral assts includ TIPS, ral stat, commoditis, tc. For som plans, it may mak sns to considr a singl multi-managd ral asst option to provid participants with a on-off way to gain xposur to ral assts. 3. Guarantd Incom for Lif Rtirmnt may nd up bing 30 yars or mor. Gnrating incom for such an xtndd priod is no asy fat, spcially givn today s low bond yilds 6. Thrfor, including som typ of guarantd incom option in a DC plan is an important considration, but on with intrsting fiduciary considrations. Fortunatly, thr ar ERISA standards for slcting annuity providrs; w addrss som of thos guidlins and additional concrns blow. 6 http://corporat.morningstar.com/ib/documnts/mthodologydocumnts/rsarchpaprs/lowbondyildswithdrawalrats.pdf 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 9 of 12
Kp Good Rcords Plan sponsor DC committ mmbrs com and go, but an annuity can last forvr (or at last 30 yars). Thrfor, it s ssntial to kp dtaild rcords of th du dilignc procdurs for slcting and monitoring any typ of plan annuity option. Unlik a traditional invstmnt, lik a mutual fund, that can b asily rmovd from a plan linup, thr ar far mor complx concrns associatd with rmoving guarantd options. Also, th annuity company is promising bnfits for th nxt 30+ yars, thrfor it s important th company is, and rmains, on solid financial footing. Portability How ar participants who want to roll out of th plan affctd? Portability is important, givn participant bhaviors, spcially if th participant has paid for som typ of guarantd bnfit and loss this insuranc if h/sh rolls out of th plan. Th SPARK Institut has data format standards for oprations portability that should b considrd whn assssing guarantd options. Pl Back th Onion Annuitis can b incrdibly complx vhicls and com in many shaps and sizs. Thrfor, it s important for plan sponsors to rally undrstand what thy r buying and how it can fit th nds of thir participants. Bring in th Exprt Givn th complxity of th annuity dcision, it maks sns to sk counsl from xprts. Whil many plan sponsors may b comfortabl using various quantitativ tools for scrning traditional invstmnt options, such tools don t rally xist in th guarantd incom spac, spcially from th prspctiv of a DC plan sponsor. Gaug th Tru Cost Annuitis, as a form of insuranc, should not b xpctd to rsult in a positiv valu for th avrag participant. Whil som participants will b bttr off purchasing an annuity than invsting th mony thmslvs in a portfolio and taking withdrawals, insuranc companis ar in businss to mak a profit and ar gnrally quit good at pricing risk. Th diffrnc in th xpctd bnfits and xpnss paid to th insuranc company rprsnt th tru cost of th annuity from th prspctiv of th participant. Th fact that insuranc companis do not los mony on ach annuity sold is probably a good thing, though, sinc this implis th insuranc company is corrctly pricing th risk and that th company should hav th ability to pay futur claims, which can b 30+ yars into th futur. Undrstanding this cost, and how it affcts diffrnt participants, is an important componnt in slction and monitoring procss. Participant Exprinc Th final considration is participant communications and th participant xprinc whn owning and using th guarantd incom option to fund rtirmnt. On siz dos not fit all, and thrfor diffrnt guarantd incom options ar likly to work bst for diffrnt typs of DC plans. 6 http://corporat.morningstar.com/ib/documnts/mthodologydocumnts/rsarchpaprs/lowbondyildswithdrawalrats.pdf 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 10 of 12
4. Rtirmnt Solutions Targt-dat funds wr cratd as an asy invstmnt solution for accumulators. Similar invstmnts xist for rtirmnt; in fact, Morningstar, Inc. has an ntir catgory ddicatd to ths rtirmnt incom funds. Plan sponsors looking to hlp participants mak bttr invstmnt dcisions should considr an advic or managd account solution to hlp participants with ths choics as wll as potntially a packagd solution. 5. Uniqu Choics Rtirmnt is full of uniqu and important choics. On xampl is whn to claim Social Scurity rtirmnt bnfits; anothr could b hlping participants with apprciatd mployr stock us nt unralizd apprciation. Ths ar oftn dcisions with significant implications; for xampl Blanchtt (2013) 7 nots that optimal Social Scurity rtirmnt bnfit claiming can incras th total rtirmnt incom by mor than 9% for a hypothtical marrid coupl. Working with a consultant that undrstands ths issus, and can hlp idntify thm, is important for DC plan sponsors. 6. Plan Distribution Options In ordr to discourag lump sum distributions, plan sponsors should b sur th plan offrs an installmnt option for rtirs and th flxibility to withdraw mony as it is ndd in rtirmnt. 7 Blanchtt, David M. 2012. Optimal Social Scurity Claiming Stratgis. Journal of Prsonal Financ. vol. 11, no. 2: 36-87. 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 11 of 12
Conclusions Crating an optimal dfind contribution plan that hlps maximiz rtirmnt succss for mploys is obviously a complicatd procss. In this papr, w brok down a varity of choics and dcisions a plan sponsor can mak, to bttr nsur rtirmnt succss for its mploys and participants. Whil many plan sponsors may b uncomfortabl implmnting som of ths dcisions on thir own, thy can form th basis of discussion topics with consultants. Bttr choics mad by plan sponsors hlp all mploys currnt and rtird to achiv what should b th fundamntal goal of ach DC plan: rtirmnt succss. 2014 Morningstar. All rights rsrvd. This documnt includs propritary matrial of Morningstar. Rproduction, transcription or othr us by any mans, in whol or in part, without th prior writtn consnt of Morningstar is prohibitd. Th Morningstar Invstmnt Managmnt division is a division of Morningstar and includs Morningstar Associats, Ibbotson Associats, and Morningstar Invstmnt Srvics, which ar rgistrd invstmnt advisors and wholly ownd subsidiaris of Morningstar, Inc. Th Morningstar nam and logo ar rgistrd marks of Morningstar. Pag 12 of 12