More Participants Increase Savings, Seek Advice

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Retirement & Benefit Plan Services' quarterly report on plan and participant activities within its proprietary 401(k) business found 60% of participants started or increased savings.

Conversely, 40% of participants stopped or decreased saving.

An executive summary of the DC Scorecard said 64% of plan participants who changed their savings rate in Q3 chose to increase savings (compared to 63% in Q2, and 53% in Q1). The number of participants who stopped contributing to their plans in Q3 was 46% lower than in Q1 (Q2 was 34% lower than in Q1), and the number of participants who decreased their contribution in Q3 was 44% lower than in Q1 (Q2 was 39% lower than in Q1).

The data also show a significant year-over-year climb in plan participant use of the firm’s Advice Access service. Plans that use the Advice Access service saw a 74% increase in participants accessing advice.

Plan sponsors are taking steps as well. The scorecard indicated a 12% increase in the adoption of automatic enrollment, and a 20% increase in the adoption of automatic increase. The data also show a 20% increase in plan usage of Advice Access.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Retirement & Benefit Plan Services’ business includes more than 1,500 plan sponsors and more than 1.5 million actively contributing plan participants.

New Partnership Offers Retirement Platform for Banks, Trust Cos.

A new partnership between EPIC Advisors Inc. and Mutual of Omaha offers banks and trust companies a retirement plan offering to provide to their clients.

A news release said EPIC provides administrative and recordkeeping services while Mutual of Omaha contributes a variety of retirement services including fiduciary support, participant education, and investment options.   

The solution’s investment lineup features more than 50 investment offerings, including individually managed accounts, asset allocation funds, and self-directed brokerage options.

Employers will be able to make use of the plan’s customized support through plan design and administration.


More information is available at www.epic1st.com and www.mutualofomaha.com.

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