Jeff Belton

Financial Consultant, intellicents

Business at a Glance

PLANADVISER: What outcomes matter most to your clients—and how do you measure whether you’re delivering them? (e.g., participation, deferral behavior, retirement readiness, fiduciary confidence)

Belton: At the highest level, our clients want to feel that they and their employees are truly being taken care of—not just from an investment and fiduciary standpoint, but holistically and consistently across every retirement plan interaction.

That means, for the plan sponsor, confidence that their program is working, their responsibilities are covered, and they have a trusted partner proactively guiding them.

For participants, it means clarity, access and real support—knowing there’s someone they can turn to for answers, guidance and advice at every stage of life.

While the industry tends to define success through traditional metrics like participation rates, deferrals or investment performance, we view those as byproducts, not the end goal.

The outcomes that matter most to us are:

• Engagement: Are participants actually interacting, asking questions and seeking advice?
• Confidence: Do employees feel more in control of their financial lives?
• Behavior change: Are they budgeting better, reducing debt and making smarter decisions?
• Readiness: Are more people on track—not just for retirement, but for overall financial stability?

We measure these outcomes through a combination of quantitative and qualitative data—utilization metrics, meeting participation, financial plan adoption and retirement readiness scores—alongside direct feedback from both sponsors and participants.

Do our clients feel supported, confident and cared for without things falling through the cracks?

PLANADVISER: What differentiates your team in a crowded advisory marketplace today? Please expand on what you do differently in practice, not philosophy.

Belton: Our differentiation starts with a simple belief that experience drives outcomes.

While most advisers focus heavily on funds, fees and fiduciary governance—the industry’s “table stakes”—we’ve intentionally built those into the background. They matter, but they don’t create engagement, and without engagement, outcomes don’t improve.

We focus on the experience for both the client and the participant—because that’s where real change happens.

Let’s be honest: Finance, retirement and planning are often perceived as complex, intimidating … even boring. If we don’t change that perception, even the best-designed plan will fall short. We’ve built an approach that compels people to engage through personalized planning, meaningful interactions and ongoing touchpoints.

At the end of the day, it’s not about having the best plan on paper; it’s about whether people actually use it, benefit from it and ultimately achieve desired outcomes.

PLANADVISER: Why should advisers play a leadership role in expanding retirement coverage through MEPs and PEPs?

Belton: MEPs and PEPs (along with other group plan solutions), are tools to touch more individuals with limited time and resources. If we can leverage the institutionalized structure of group solutions, then we can spend our time expanding reach and coverage. As retirement plan advisers, we need confidence that the plan structure is taken care of so we can focus on maximized engagement. MEPs and PEPs help deliver consistent results on a greater scale.

PLANADVISER: How does your MEP/PEP service model differ operationally and strategically from single-employer plans?

Belton: The biggest difference is that the MEP/PEP structure allows us to shift our focus from managing the plan to maximizing its impact.

In a traditional single-employer plan, a significant amount of time is spent on fiduciary oversight, investment discussions and operational challenges. In the MEP/PEP model, much of that fiduciary and administrative burden is centralized with the plan sponsor and pooled plan provider. This creates a fundamental shift, both operationally and strategically.

Operationally, it reduces the day-to-day burden for the employer. Strategically, it frees our team to focus on what actually drives outcomes.

We spend significantly more time engaging with participants; providing education and advice; having financial planning conversations; and driving behavior change.

Less time is spent reacting to operational issues or focusing on investments. We spend that time ensuring employees are using the plan effectively and improving their financial awareness.