Although October is usually the month employees are focusing on their health insurance options for next year, it’s good to redirect their attention to a decision that has a much longer term impact then what type of health coverage they’ll have for 2013, and that is how much they are contributing towards their retirement. It’s not a fund ticker symbol or license plate number, but what NS4RW stands for is National Save For Retirement Week, created by Senate Resolution 555 that calls for the week of October 21, 2012 to highlight 3 goals:
1. Make employees more aware of how critical it is to save now for their financial future
2. Promote the benefits of getting started saving for retirement today
3. Encourage employees to take full advantage of their employer-sponsored plans by increasing their contributions
Many employees probably spend more time picking out their Halloween costume than picking out their investment strategy so get their attention next week by making the event fun and relevant. Host a lunch-n-learn pizza party to review your plan’s fund lineup or send out an email with a direct link to your auto rate escalator feature. If you are too busy to put together a campaign yourself, then reach out to your plan provider or financial education provider for easy ideas you can incorporate to get your employees to take action next week towards their retirement goals.
To help promote this important campaign, the National Save For Retirement Resource Center offers many useful tools, including a web banner, brochures, posters, and sample email messages. You can also check with your plan provider since many of the big names have partnered with this initiative. I’m with Great-West Retirement Services, who is on the list of partners along with T Rowe Price, Schwab, Fidelity, and ING just to name a few. No matter how you do it, the goal is to help get them educated and saving so retirement won’t be as frightening as Halloween.
