MassMutual’s New White Paper Educates Employers on Retirement Plan Participation Campaigns

So, MassMutual’s Center for Behavioral Research has released a new white paper of insights and best practices for conducting education campaigns to raise interest and participation among employees in employer-sponsored retirement plans.

The paper, “Best Practices in Employee Campaigns: Helping Them Get There,” addresses specific methods that advisors and sponsors can use to increase participant engagement and to achieve a desired action such as increasing the average savings rate.

Alison Salka, director of the Center for Behavioral Research, explained a couple of those proven methods.

“We have found that contacting participants at least three times at intervals of approximately 25 days can increase the response rate by an average of 60 percent,” Salka said. “Likewise, by providing a pre-filled tear-off postcard to participants across 65 plans, we achieved a response rate of almost 10 percent vs. 1.5 percent for a traditional direct mailing.”

Of course, enrolling an employee in an employer-sponsored retirement plan is just the first step.

“Considering that less than 40 percent of plan participants have even calculated what they will need for retirement, there is clearly a need to provide retirement plan advisors and sponsors with tools that educate and motivate,” said Ian Sheridan, corporate vice president and chief marketing officer of MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division.

“We are committed to ensuring that participants understand all the factors that impact their ability to accumulate retirement savings,” he added.

“Best Practices in Employee Campaigns: Helping Them Get There” is available for viewing on MassMutual’s Center for Behavioral Research Web site.