Deals & People May 1, 2023

USI Consulting Acquires Actuarial, Retirement Plan Consultancy

USI expands its actuarial and retirement capabilities with the 68-person team of Hooker & Holcombe.

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USI Consulting Group, a retirement plan consulting and benefits administration firm, has acquired Hooker & Holcombe Inc. an actuarial, investment advisory and retirement plan consultancy, the Glastonbury, Connecticut-based USI announced Monday.

USI will bring on Hooker & Holcombe’s team of 68 employees, including the executive team led by Richard S. Sych. Bloomfield, Connecticut-based Hooker & Holcombe provides actuarial services, including winding down defined benefit pension plans, as well as 401(k) and 403(b) plan design, consulting, and participant education and engagement.

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“For more than 67 years, through the expertise of our dedicated and knowledgeable professionals, H&H has built a strong reputation for delivering effective retirement plan solutions that exceed client expectations,” Sych, Hooker & Holcombe’s president, said in a statement. “We look forward to advancing this longstanding tradition of service excellence through our partnership with USI Consulting Group.”

The companies did not disclose terms of the deal; retirement M&A consultancy Wise Rhino Group represented Hooker & Holcombe in the transaction.

“Hooker & Holcombe has been one of the most well-respected names in actuarial and retirement services for many years,” Peter Campagna, a partner at Wise Rhino Group, said in a statement. “Partnering with a dynamic, growing and diversified firm like USI gives the H&H team an expanded base of resources and tools to take their already outstanding service to another level. These two firms are a terrific match and have a very bright future together.”

USI offers plan advice, consulting and administrative services to retirement plan sponsor clients and participants through 600 retirement advisers, according to its website. The firm currently has more than 3,800 retirement plan clients representing $33 billion in assets under advisement.

“We are thrilled to welcome the talented professionals from H&H to the USI family and look forward to strengthening USI’s retirement consulting expertise throughout the country,” Bill Tremko, CEO and president of USI, said in a statement.
Data & Research May 1, 2023

Can Employers Help Americans Struggling to Save Amid Inflation?

More than 20% of U.S. workers made reported borrowing from their retirement savings in 2022, according to FinFit.

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Despite the financial stressors affecting Americans, 53% of employees say their employer has not offered additional financial wellness benefits or compensation in response to rising prices, according to data collected in January by FinFit.

The same percentage, 53%, of people with retirement savings, said they don’t know if it will be enough to retire on.

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One reason for the uncertain financial future is that those funds were needed on a more urgent basis in a turbulent 2022. Almost one-quarter of participants (22%) borrowed from retirement savings in the past year, with 64% saying it was their least expensive loan option. Not surprisingly, 62% are nervous that inflation will affect their retirement savings and/or timing to retire.

Meanwhile, 38% reported they are not contributing enough to their retirement savings, and another one-quarter plan to reduce their contributions.

“Many working Americans are at a crisis point when it comes to their personal finances,” the report stated. “With inflation reaching historic highs throughout 2022, the rising costs of everyday expenses has made it difficult, if not impossible, for people to build their savings and avoid going into high-cost debt.”

In response, the FinFit summary recommended an increased investment from employers could help their workers cope.

“We believe that holistic financial wellbeing programs—ones that support emergency savings, inclusive access to earned wages and affordable loans, as well as wrap-around financial resilience programs including coaching and education—will lead the efforts to close the benefits gap,” FinFit stated.

The firm also suggested other financial well-being benefits, like salary-linked loans and early wage access, in the hopes that employers are becoming more open to offering benefits that tackle high-cost debt, variable cash flow and lack of emergency savings.

Employees seemed to share that hope, as 68% expressed interest in an employer-sponsored savings product, and 47% were interested in a low-cost loan available through their workplace.

FinFit calculated what it termed an employer net promoter score to help employers measure employee satisfaction. It has found that, on average, employers who provide financial wellness benefits see an NPS more than 2.4 times higher than those who do not.

The report, “Inside the Wallets of Working Americans: The 5th Annual Report from Salary Finance,” was conducted in January, surveying 2,000 working Americans.

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