Plan sponsors may think they have enough worry just getting employees to save for retirement, but, based on results of this year’s CAP Member Survey, it’s likely that many plan members will also need help turning their retirement savings into retirement income.
The overwhelming majority of DC savers in the United Kingdom are uncertain how they intend to use their pension savings.
With about 400,000 Canadians expected to retire each year over the next 17 years, sponsors of DC pension plans should be considering their role in the decumulation phase of retirement savings.
Retiring employees might get a handshake, a gold watch or even a goodbye party. But for DC plan members...is it enough?
A few years back, we held a session at the annual Avantages Montreal DC conference and asked the sponsor audience how likely they would get involved in helping DC members optimize their retirement income, post-accumulation. Sadly, only two out of the 50 or so sponsors present said they would. But it looks like things are changing.
An emerging focus on the payout phase could mean a greater fiduciary role for DC plan sponsors
Rivers of ink have been spilled over how to help DC members to save more, invest better and gain more knowledge. We have applied behavioural economics, calculated the effect of high fees on cumulative savings, taken advantage of the latest research on heuristics and employed the best consulting talent—all to ensure that the accumulated savings will prove adequate in achieving DB-like replacement ratios.
The decisions we ask employees to make at retirement are both complex and consequential. In many cases, there’s no going back. Whether you’re a DC member choosing an annuity or a DB member choosing a pension payment option, the decision is significant and irreversible. So, what role should plan sponsors play in equipping members to make these critical decisions?
As it turns out, everyone. Managing asset de-accumulation risk in capital accumulation plans was the hot topic of a recent ACPM breakfast, with presentations from Paul Partridge, director, investments marketing, with Manulife Financial and Robert Klosa, director, product development at GRS market development, with Sun Life Financial.
Since the early 1990s, when pension plan sponsors began in earnest to convert their DB plans to DC, Canada has seen a sustained shift in the pension landscape. Between 1991 and 2006, according to Statistics Canada, the number of members covered by employer-sponsored DB plans shrunk by 4%, while DC membership grew by 93%.