National accounts newsletter
Q3 2024
Exciting new collaboration focused on longevity
How can we as an industry help Americans prepare to live longer, better, and healthier lives in retirement? That’s the question behind our new five-year collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) AgeLab, a multidisciplinary research institute.
Through this collaboration, we’ll explore the critical tenets of longevity and provide data-driven insight on:
- Health and wellness habits
- Financial planning
- Housing choices
- Retirement income sources
- End-of-life planning
And we’ll share our research through thought leadership and workshops. Our goal is to provide actionable insight that’s beneficial for everyone—the business community, policymakers, and individuals and their families. We’ll also be developing a first-of-its-kind longevity preparedness index, which we’ll use to measure the readiness of Americans from every generation and identify areas for improvement
Check out our press release for more details. We can’t wait to share our findings with you.
Regards,
Abigail Benham
Head of National Accounts
John Hancock Retirement
Industry perspective and recognition
Wayne Park, Head of John Hancock Retirement, recently appeared on WealthManagement.com’s 401(k) Real Chat, where he shared his thoughts on participant outcomes, the convergence of wealth and retirement at the workplace, and John Hancock’s position amid industry consolidation.
We’ve also received recognition for our participant experience and the support we provide to financial professionals.
Recent awards for advisor partnership
- Most advisor allies (16) of any firm for the sixth year in a row1
- Advisor Choice Award for favorite recordkeeper2
Recent awards for participant experience
- Best financial services mobile application3
- Wealth Management Awards finalist, participant engagement program4
Investing in an election year
“Should I change my investments before the election?” “How could the outcome affect my portfolio?” These are just some of the questions on the minds of retirement plan participants as November approaches. Financial professionals can use our U.S. elections web page to help address these concerns and keep participants focused on their long-term goals. It contains historical market performance5 and volatility across four-year election cycles, party control, and more.
How the best advisors level up
Time is one of the primary concerns of retirement plan financial professionals. More specifically, they wonder how they can provide excellent client service and still have time to find new business. To help address this concern, John Hancock co-sponsored the “How the Best Advisors Level Up”6 survey with Robin Green, president of WinMore Plans. This study of 84 leading retirement plan practices (with a combined $877 billion in defined contribution assets under administration) provides actionable steps financial professionals can take to help improve efficiency, profitability, and client satisfaction.
Robin shared some of her key findings and tips during our “Exceeding client expectations” webinar, which is available on demand.
Please note that it is incumbent on financial professionals affiliated with certain broker-dealer firms to obtain permission from their supervising broker-dealer firm prior to attending this event.
Insight into the DOL's fiduciary investment advice rule
On April 23, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its new definition of what constitutes fiduciary investment advice. We’ve created resources filled with insight from our ERISA specialists to help you understand the final rule and what it could mean for your firm, your financial professionals, and the clients you serve.
- The DOL’s final fiduciary rule is here! (thought leadership)
- Understanding the role and responsibilities of a plan fiduciary (webinar)7
- Q2 legislative developments (webinar)7
You’ll find these resources and many more on our fiduciary resources web page.8
Enhancements to John Hancock's retirement app
We’re excited to share that an updated version of our mobile app is now available. It includes interactive donut charts, which retirement plan participants can use to help visualize the contributions and investments that make up their account. When they tap on a wedge, they can view details of their holdings.
Want to learn more about our app?
1 “NAPA Allied Advisors—2024,” National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA), 2024. 2 “2024 PLANADVISER Adviser Choice Awards,” PLANADVISER, 2024. 3 “2024 Internet Advertising Competition Awards,” Web Marketing Association, Inc., 2024. 4 “Finalists of the 2024 Wealth Management Industry Awards,” WealthManagement.com, 2024. 5 Past performance does not guarantee future results. 6 “Level-up; Benchmarking Your Retirement Practice + other lessons from legends,” WinMore Plans, April 2024. The study is commissioned by John Hancock and is based on data gathered from 84 practices, with at least 50% of revenue from retirement or a dedicated retirement plan business. Responses were collected from July 2023 to March 2024 through a combination of survey and interviews. Individual circumstances may vary and may not be reflective of your situation. 7 Please note that it is incumbent on financial professionals affiliated with certain broker-dealer firms to obtain permission from their supervising broker-dealer firm prior to attending this event. 8 This is not intended to be an exhaustive review of fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA. It highlights key issues that plan fiduciaries must be aware of. John Hancock is not in a position to provide you with legal advice concerning your plan or your role as plan fiduciary, and the information included here should not be taken as such. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, please consult your legal counsel.
The content of this document is for general information only and is believed to be accurate and reliable as of the posting date, but may be subject to change. It is not intended to provide investment, tax, plan design, or legal advice (unless otherwise indicated). Please consult your own independent advisor as to any investment, tax, or legal statements made.
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services LLC provides administrative and/or recordkeeping services to sponsors or administrators of retirement plans through an open-architecture platform. John Hancock Trust Company LLC, a New Hampshire non-depository trust company, provides trust and custodial services to such plans, offers an Individual Retirement Accounts product, and maintains specific Collective Investment Trusts. Group annuity contracts and recordkeeping agreements are issued by John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), Boston, MA (not licensed in NY), and John Hancock Life Insurance Company of New York, Valhalla, NY. Product features and availability may differ by state. All entities do business under certain instances using the John Hancock brand name. Each entity makes available a platform of investment alternatives to sponsors or administrators of retirement plans without regard to the individualized needs of any plan. Unless otherwise specifically stated in writing, each entity does not, and is not undertaking to, provide impartial investment advice or give advice in a fiduciary capacity. Securities are offered through John Hancock Distributors LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.
NOT FDIC INSURED. MAY LOSE VALUE. NOT BANK GUARANTEED.
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