In his new role, Thomason fosters current relationships and
builds new ones with advisers who specialize in the mid- and large-plan markets.
He comes to Securian from J.P. Morgan, where he was in institutional retirement sales. Over the past decade, Thomason was at Fidelity
Investments in retirement sales and private banking.
Thomason holds a bachelor’s degree from James Madison
University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and a law degree from Gonzaga University
School of Law in Spokane, Washington.
Pentegra Promotes ‘Automatic’ 401(k) Plan Design Features
Pentegra Retirement Services introduced the “Pentegra SmartPath,” a new brochure that details recommended progressive 401(k) plan design best practices.
Pentegra says automatic plan features help sponsors better
meet the needs of plan participants and drive more successful outcomes overall.
The “Pentegra SmartPath” offers plan sponsors a guide to implementing these
401(k) plan design features, which can include automatic enrollment, automatic
escalation of salary deferrals, automatic portfolio rebalancing and utilization of
qualified default investment vehicles.
Pentegra says such features help plan participants set a
reasonable level of salary savings, increase their contributions over time,
achieve proper investment diversification, and make better use of a plan’s
investment alternatives. Placing participants in an appropriate investment
option at a preselected contribution rate that increases annually essentially
replaces some of the most important features of a defined benefit (DB) plan, such as
automatic coverage and professional investment management.
Pentegra explains in SmartPath that, in order to achieve
best-in-class results in terms of participant retirement readiness, plan
sponsors must add more automatic plan features, which can help plan
participants achieve the 10% savings rate Pentegra believes is crucial to
success.
According to Rich Rausser, senior vice president at
Pentegra, “With the 401(k) plan becoming the sole retirement plan for many
employees, it is more important now than ever before to ensure that it is
designed to help participants meet their goals. Plan success should be measured
in terms of how well your plan is able to help participants meet their
retirement goals for financial security. Real plan effectiveness should be
measured in terms of whether participants are on track to succeed. Staying on
track is the key, which was the impetus to create our new Pentegra SmartPath.”
Rausser says the retirement plan industry has learned that
education alone does not drive participant behavior.
“Ensuring successful participant outcomes begins with
progressive plan design that maximizes positive participant behaviors,” he
adds. “Progressive redesign of the 401(k) plan can only help participants
achieve higher levels of retirement readiness and success.”