Standard Life has released a new retirement solution designed to simplify retirement plans for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The company said the new product would help close the retirement gap in the SME sector, as evidenced by a recent Environics/Standard Life survey which found that 92% of SME employees rank workplace retirement plans as a top benefit, despite the fact that 69% of SME executives rank such plans as just the seventh most important retention and engagement tool.
Pension in a Box is an online-based workplace retirement solution, which takes into account employee needs and varying degrees of investment knowledge. Both employers and employees can use the online platform to access education and administration tools, while Standard Life advisors can interact with plan members to offer financial advice.
“SMEs make up the vast majority of businesses in Canada. When it comes to group retirement plans, their needs and resources are different from larger organizations. Consequently, workplace savings and retirement plans need to be adapted to their reality,” said Michel Fortin, senior vice-president, marketing and customer solutions, with Standard Life. “[Pension in a Box] allows SME decisionmakers to focus on what they do best, that is running their day-to-day business, and not worrying about the complexities of managing a pension plan.”
Employers using Pension in a Box can build a retirement offering for their employees using a combination of DC plans, group RRSPs, TFSAs, non-registered savings plans and deferred profit sharing plans.