Data & Research July 28, 2010

Advisers Play an Important Role in Affluent Employees’ Retirement Planning

The latest Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights Quarterly finds that among those affluent individuals who work with a financial adviser in or outside the workplace, the majority indicate that this person plays an important role in determining how to help them make the most of their 401(k) or other workplace retirement plans.
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Among the two-thirds (66%) who turn to their financial adviser for help, 33% cite doing so for such reasons as establishing the right asset allocation strategy within their plans, 26% for adjusting their strategy at different life stages, 18% for assisting with rollover upon leaving an employer, and 20% for developing rollover or distribution strategies when preparing for retirement, according to a Bank of America press release.  

Other than compensation and promotions, retirement benefits are the next greatest factor keeping affluent employees loyal to a company (60%).  

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However, respondents believe more could be done by their employer, including providing access to a financial professional who can offer personalized advice and guidance (26%), offering better financial education programs about how to save for retirement (24%), and providing education and advice about issues beyond retirement savings, such as budgeting, college savings plans and debt management (21%). Among affluent employees with access to financial education or advice services offered by their employer –particularly pertaining to their 401(k) or other workplace retirement plans – 77% take advantage of such value-added benefits.   

According to the press release, for the majority of affluent employees, workplace retirement vehicles, such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans, are among the primary tools in which they save and invest for their future. More than half (54%) rely solely or heavily on retirement plans offered by their employers to meet retirement goals.   

However, among them, 60% do not contribute the maximum allotted amount to these accounts, inviting greater potential for retirement funding shortfalls and a need to retire later than they may have hoped. In fact, 45% of affluent individuals expect to retire later than they had originally planned, compared to just 29% in January 2010.   

The survey also found nearly one in five (17%) respondents spend 50% or more of their time managing personal finances while in the workplace, and nearly one in three (29%) spend at least 25% or more of this time while at work.  

Braun Research conducted the Merrill Lynch Affluent Insights Quarterly survey by phone between June 11 and June 29, 2010, on behalf of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management among a nationally representative sample of 1,000 affluent Americans with investable assets in excess of $250,000.
Deals & People July 28, 2010

New York Life RPS Hires Director of Marketing

New York Life Retirement Plan Services has appointed Joseph Stabnick as its new director of marketing, effective immediately.
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In this role, Stabnick will be responsible for all of New York Life Retirement Plan Services’ adviser and plan sponsor marketing efforts, including its branding, advertising, and public relations. He will report to Deanna Garen, managing director of strategic marketing at New York Life Retirement Plan Services.  

According to a press release, before joining New York Life Retirement Plan Services, Stabnick worked for Fidelity for 16 years, where he served as vice president of global marketing for Pyramis; chief marketing officer and vice president for marketing for Fidelity Investments, Canada; vice president of participant experience and retail integration for Fidelity Investments Retirement Services Company; and other senior marketing roles for Fidelity’s charitable arm, its Japanese division, its institutional services company, and its retail marketing effort.  Earlier in his career he was an assistant product director for Johnson & Johnson in its Personal Products Company.   

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Stabnick holds a BA in biology from Wesleyan University and an MBA from Dartmouth College’s Amos Tuck School of Business Administration.

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