Wachovia Offers Free Consultation to Retirement Plan Participants

Wachovia Retirement Services is offering a free retirement consultation by phone to employees of the 6,400 companies for which Wachovia is 401(k) plan administrator.

According to a press release, the consultation is accessed by calling a toll-free number and is offered by Wachovia’s retirement plan specialists. The consultants will engage in conversations with employees to determine if they are enrolled in the plan and on track to replace 80% of their pre-retirement income at the time of retirement.

“As numerous studies have shown, inertia or plan complexity result in a lack of action, which results in participants not reaching their required savings level. We believe that a live retirement consultation will give participants a snapshot of what they need to do to improve retirement income projections—and this will, over time, become a motivator for preparing for the future,” said Joe Ready, executive vice president and head of Wachovia Retirement Services, in a release.

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Wachovia said it conducted a pilot in June to determine the impact of a free retirement consultation offering to plan participants, and the results show most employees are not on track to save for their retirement:

  • Of the 736 free retirement consultations offered, 43% of participants accepted the consultation (318);
  • Of those who accepted the consultation, only 8% were “on track” to recreate 80% of their pre-retirement income;
  • Forty percent took action and either enrolled, increased deferrals, or changed allocations.

More information is at available at http://wachovia.com/401k.

JPMorgan Announces Target-Date Evaluation Product

JPMorgan Asset Management unveiled an evaluation process to help advisers and clients identify the most appropriate target-date funds.

A JPMorgan news release said its new Target Date Navigator categorizes funds according to their investment composition and glide path strategy. The company said its offering could also help advisers and their clients to ensure fiduciary responsibilities are being addressed and that plans are compliant with qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) guidelines.

“What we have found in the marketplace is a real disconnect in the alignment of participants’ behaviors and needs, plan sponsors’ goals, and target-date strategy selection,” said David Musto, managing director of Retail Investment Only Retirement, JPMorgan Asset Management, in the statement. “Retirement advisers and plan sponsors have been hungry for an easy-to-use and intuitive target date evaluation solution.”

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According to the news release, the new offering involves a three-step process:

  • assessing the plan’s desired level of equity exposure for participants at or near retirement
  • determining the plan’s philosophy regarding asset class diversification
  • comparing and selecting the most appropriate target-date funds using JPMorgan’s Target Date Compass.

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