Our 2014 DC Plan Summit explored ways to keep members on track to retire successfully—and save them from themselves.

These videos highlight what was discussed at this year’s summit.

   

Where actions meet intentions
There was a time when many workers didn’t have to worry about saving money for retirement. After all, that’s what their DB pension plan was for. Then the pendulum shifted and companies began switching to DC plans.

   

Adjusting to auto-enrollment
In the aerospace and defence business, the pension culture is very strong. At AgustaWestland pensions are seen as a key employee benefit, since many employees stay with the company for most of their working life.

   

Saskatchewan’s shaking things up
The Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP) has been called “Canada’s best-kept secret” and a “made-in-Saskatchewan success story,” with the potential to do for pension reform what medicare did for healthcare in the country.

   

Retirement plans for the 21st century
United Technologies knows a thing or two about building features into its products to make them last. So it’s not surprising that it became one of the first U.S. employers to incorporate a lifetime income feature into its retirement plan.

   

DC plan member education
Sponsors should talk with members about the best way to achieve a target lifestyle in retirement. Encourage early participation and adequate contribution rates in DC/savings plans.

   

Long-term investment horizons
It’s important for plan sponsors and members to take a long-term view in a short-term world with respect to evaluating investment managers in DC plan arrangements.

   

Retirement income adequacy
Despite the name, most DC plans are conceived and run as saving vehicles, not ones that generate income. This could pose challenges for retirees, who may think that they will have a pension of significance.

   

Plan sponsor reporting
Establishing a group savings and retirement program is to assist members in saving for retirement. By assessing the information available within various reports, sponsors can determine if members are on track.

   

The importance of financial planning
Statistics show that many plan members are unprepared for retirement. Even those who are putting away money are unclear on how much they’ll actually need. The problem: they don’t have a financial plan.

   

Risk management in DC plans
In DC plans, members assume the investment, savings shortfall, longevity and inflation risks associated with retirement. Risk management concepts are still relatively new in DC plans.

   

Time to add “smart” features to DC plans?
Smart features—such as automatic adjustments of member contribution amounts and investment allocation as members progress toward their retirement income goals—can help plans to achieve their objectives.

   

De-accumulation strategies
Much attention is paid to how to accumulate savings in a DC plan, but not enough work is being done to advise members on what happens when they start to take the money out.

   

The optimal investment lineup for DC plans
There is a need to ensure proper diversification for DC plan members. That said, the packages offered to them should be kept as simple as possible, given that there is a general lack of understanding about investing.