With an aging workforce demographic, employers are taking a variety of steps to provide benefits which prepare their workers for retirement. These steps include Group RRSPs, lifecycle funds, managed accounts, and retirement education.
Group RRSPs
A Group RRSP is a savings plan offered through an employer. It’s similar to an individual RRSP, but with the added benefit of allowing employees to have savings deducted from their paycheques into a range of investments, while receiving matching contributions (up to a certain limit) from the employer. Group RRSPs are an excellent way for workers to grow their retirement savings.
Life-Cycle Funds & Portfolio Rebalancing
According to the Employee Benefits 2020 Survey, organizations with satisfied plan members were more likely to offer several simplified plan features to encourage participation and ensure employees have adequate retirement funds. For example, these employers were more likely to offer target-data/life cycle funds which will automatically reset their asset allocations as plan members approach retirement. Over time, as an employee moves closer to retirement, the fund’s investment mix becomes more conservative, with a larger share of assets going into fixed-income mutual funds, which are less risky than equity funds.
Other benefits which workers value are automatic portfolio rebalancing and managed accounts. Employers found that managed accounts ensured appropriate retirement savings investing by their employees. They also found that offering managed accounts helped them recruit the best workers and increased their employee retention.
Retirement Education
Because of the number of financial planning and retirement benefits available now, savvy employers recognize the need to help employees understand and navigate their retirement planning choices. Organizations with satisfied workers were more likely to offer virtual education sessions to enhance worker understanding of retirement/financial issues and formal financial planning/counselling services. Because of COVID and more workers moving to working from home, attendance at virtual education sessions was much higher than pre-pandemic attendance to on-site sessions.
At Health Risk Services, we work with plan managers to continually adapt their plans to meet the changes, opportunities, and needs of their employees while managing their company budgets. We know how to find the best possible solution for both the employees and the employer in crafting retirement and financial benefit plans. We would like you to know more about how Health Risk Services can assist you with a 2022 plan to address employee retirement benefits, so please schedule a Complimentary Consultation with us.
At Health Risk Services we will Empathize, Educate, and Empower you and your team in 2022! To schedule your Complimentary Consultation with Health Risk Services, please call 403-236-9430 OR email: [email protected]
