JPMorgan Everyday 401(k) Platform Signifies Micro-Market Competition

SS&C Technologies will act as the underlying recordkeeper for the Everyday 401(k) small-business retirement plan solution, which the firm’s leadership says will complement the existing Retirement Link platform backed by Empower.

JPMorgan Chase has announced the launch of the Everyday 401(k) by J.P. Morgan, through which small-business owners and startup organizations can set up a 401(k) plan by selecting J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s (JPAM) ready-to-use solutions, or by customizing their own plan.

SS&C Technologies will act as the underlying recordkeeper for the Everyday 401(k), with plans starting as low as $75 per month, with a $5 per participant monthly charge.

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Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, says the Everyday 401(k) will leverage capabilities from across JPAM and Chase.

“We are uniquely positioned to support small businesses with solutions such as Everyday 401(k),” Domon suggests. He cites JPAM research indicating that a large majority (85%) of small-business owners are confident their business will survive the current economic environment. The JPAM data also shows more than one-third of small business owners plan to offer a 401(k) in the next year, while less than half (48%) currently offer a 401(k) plan. Low revenue is cited as the top reason small businesses do not offer a 401(k) plan, while nearly a quarter believe administration is too costly.

One notable feature is that the Everyday 401(k) allows small business owners to commence setting up a plan and enroll their employees online at the main Chase.com banking homepage. After answering a few questions to narrow down their plan options, determine pricing and select the plan for their business, owners can choose a customized plan and enroll their employees. From there, business owners confirm details with an SS&C retirement representative to give employees access to Chase resources and advice.

Asked to explain how this development stacks up against the firm’s existing Retirement Link business line, Michael Miller, JPAM’s head of retirement for the Americas, tells PLANADVISER that the two solutions should viewed as complementary.

“We built this solution specifically to help small business owners and their employees plan, save and invest for their future,” Miller says. “This 401(k) solution provides a low cost, digital solution for micro-market and start-up 401(k) plans. The J.P. Morgan Retirement Link solution continues to play an important role in delivering retirement plan solutions to clients in the small- to mid-market retirement plan space. Both these solutions leverage our industry leading content and investment capabilities and are focusing on helping Americans build stronger retirement savings.”

Miller says the firm is excited to leverage the breadth of resources available on Chase.com and to help plan participants with their spending and savings goals. 

“Through Chase.com, we are able to reach tens of thousands of Chase for Business customers, as well as nearly half of U.S. households that Chase serves, with a broad range of financial services, including personal banking, credit cards, mortgages, auto financing, investment advice, small business loans and payment processing,” he adds. “Our goal for Everyday 401(k) will be to fully integrate into Chase customer’s existing online experience.”

As to the choice to go with SS&C Technology as the underlying recordkeeper, Miller says this was a pretty easy one, in the end.

“SS&C, in addition to having robust scale and a proven technology base, provided a lot of the capabilities we were looking to deliver to small business employers, with a focus on delivering a digital forward, simple and low-cost retirement solution,” Miller explains.

This news from JPAM and Chase underscores the retirement plan industry’s growing focus on the small-plan and micro-plan market. As reflected in Miller’s comments, providers are coming to view this end of the market both as an opportunity to grow the number of plans and participants they serve, but also to open up new distribution pathways for other services in the areas of asset management, banking, insurance, etc.

Principal, for example, has recently rolled out Simply Retirement by Principal, a retirement platform designed to make 401(k) plans more accessible to businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Like the Everyday 401(k), the Simply Retirement platform emphasizes an affordable and seamless setup process.

PAi, a provider of 401(k) plan administration and recordkeeping services, is another firm active in this area, as it has recently joined forces with LPL Financial to deliver a small-plan market solution that combines 3(38) fiduciary services with robust and affordable recordkeeping and administration support.

How to Diversify Retirement Plan Committees

With representation being top of mind in 2020, companies are reconsidering the makeup of their workforces and their retirement plan committees.


This year, in particular, with the protests that sprung up across the country following the death of George Floyd, has shown many companies the importance of having a truly diverse workforce. And that principle should extend to the retirement plan committee as well as the workforce, experts say.

While having a diverse committee is ideal, the first thing plan sponsors should do is select experts to sit on the committee, says Timothy Irvin, a director and corporate markets practice leader at Cammack Retirement Group. That would include people from finance, benefits, human resources (HR) and operations, Irvin says. “First and foremost, it is an expert group,” Irvin says. “It is not worth sacrificing knowledge because this committee makes decisions on behalf of plan participants and their beneficiaries. The committee needs to be capable, first and foremost, and, secondly, representative of the institution.”

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Those experts might include the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer, the vice president of finance, the treasurer, the chief benefits administrator, the head of HR or someone from payroll, Irvin says.

As far as diversity is concerned, companies should “make sure different areas of the company are represented on the committee,” Irvin says. “A lot of the committees we work with are diversified. We help our clients with this by benchmarking the typical roles on committees and sharing this information with clients.”

Dannae Delano, a partner with The Wagner Law Group, agrees with Irvin that having a diverse retirement plan committee is an important consideration. “Traditionally, the thinking has been focused on people with the right expertise, that is, representatives from the financial, HR and legal departments,” Delano says. “Those are all still important, but as workforces are becoming more diverse—culturally, generationally, by ethnicity and by gender—it is also important to have the committee represent this more diverse workforce.”

Having a committee that is more representative of employees results in participants better understanding the plan—and, potentially, better retirement outcomes, Delano says.

“Statistics show that it is very hard for workers to understand their retirement plan,” she says, “but that increases exponentially when there is someone from their demographic group on the committee, because those committee members can convey information about the plan to people in a way they understand. Diversification is becoming more important on all levels. If you don’t have a diverse retirement committee, you are not speaking to your workforce.”

That said, Delano is quick to add that the size of the committee should never extend beyond 11 people. The ideal size, she says, is five to nine people serving one- to two-term limits of three to five years. By staggering who sits on the committee, new ideas can be heard, and more representatives from the employee base can be heard, she notes.

“Another reason why you don’t want the same people on the committee forever is because the demographics of a company change over time,” Delano says.

TIAA has been committed to having a diversified workforce in its offices around the world for the past 12 years, says Corie Pauling, senior vice president and chief inclusion and diversity officer at the firm. That also means having a diverse retirement plan committee.

The race-related protests of 2020 have brought the need for diversity to the forefront, and many of TIAA’s clients have been asking the firm for guidance on best practices on this topic, Pauling says. “This year, the conversation around racial justice has emerged in unparalleled ways,” she says.

Having a workforce that is more diverse results in better productivity because employees feel valued “and contribute at their maximum,” she says. “Workforce innovations have led to measurably better outcomes in terms of retention, ambassadorship and engagement. The diverse mix of individuals in our organization feel included and want to do the very best for our organization and ensure our success.”

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