Supporting Your Plan Participants
To help you create a structure and process for your employee communications, we work with you to design a written Participant Education Program. The program is customized to what is most effective for you and your employees and is based on several behavioral finance concepts.
We utilize a multiple touch approach for participant education. This includes face-to-face meetings in large group, small group and one-on-one settings. We welcome the inclusion of spouses as oftentimes the spouse is the money manager in the family. Contact with your employees is maintained throughout the year via webinars, e-mail, mail and “break room” materials. Every participant receives our telephone number and e-mail addresses and is encouraged to contact us.
Participant education is most effective when tailored to a specific audience. In a group setting, this means separating employees by demographics, interests, or investment aptitude. We welcome the opportunity to meet with employees individually, as this is the most effective way to maximize their use of the plan and to help get them on the road toward financial independence in retirement.
Our goal is to help your employees achieve a fulfilling life in retirement. To that end, we offer each participant access to our online financial planning software, IBS Global Wealth View. Through this system your employees can compile all of their financial data in one location. The program will help them develop a budget and track their spending. More detailed financial planning is also available including income and spending projections for different hypothetical retirement scenarios.
Do you have an even stronger commitment to your employees' future? Consider these additional participant services available:
Individual Participant Advice
Some participants prefer a more hands on approach when selecting their investments. For your employees who choose, IBS Financial Group representatives can provide specific participant-level investment advice. We will meet with your employees individually to assess their goals and risk tolerance, build an appropriate asset allocation and act as their ongoing financial professional. When enrolled in the advice service, participants receive ongoing investment management, quarterly progress reports and access to assistance online, on the phone or in-person. This helps them focus on retirement readiness and may help increase savings in the plan.
Financial Wellness
To provide your employees with financial support beyond your retirement plan, we can deliver a participant financial wellness program through the LPL Financial Worksite Financial Solutions program, exclusive to LPL Financial and its advisor partners. Participants take an online financial wellness self-assessment and receive a personalized report on their areas of financial strength and weakness. IBS will review the results with you to determine a customized financial wellness program for your employees. The program utilizes workplace workshops—on site, one-on-one, and online—and includes coverage of personal financial planning concepts, retirement planning, investing, distribution planning, Social Security and more. Through follow-up assessments we can track the effectiveness of the program, identify areas to adjust and report the results to you.
Employee Transitions
To help your new and former employees avoid the negative tax consequences of a cash distribution we can provide help through an employee transitions program. This solution provides participants assistance in times of change, whether that means helping a new employee consolidate accounts from previous employers or explaining their options when they move on. It prepares them for the next phase of their life and gives information needed to help them make informed decisions.