August 29, 2023
Plan sponsor newsletter
Q2 2023
New enhancements to the digital enrollment experience
As part of our effort to continuously improve key participant experiences, we’re enhancing our digital enrollment experience for eligible employees.
See more details about the upcoming enhancements and a video of the experience.
Note: As part of the enhancements, eligible employees will have to register their online account before enrolling in their plan. This means employee census data must be provided before enrollment materials are distributed to ensure a smooth registration and enrollment process. If adequate census data isn’t provided in advance, participants will receive a failure message and must engage their plan administrator to get it resolved before returning to register their online account.
SECURE 2.0 Act information and updates on our resource page
As we all move into the action phase with SECURE 2.0 Act, we’d like to remind you of all the useful information available to you on our resource page at retirement.johnhancock.com:
- Replays of two well-attended webinars hosted by Chris Frank, head of DC consulting, and Tami Guimelli, AVP and associate chief counsel. One is an overview of SECURE 2.0. The other is our Q1 legislative update webinar, which features an informative follow-up FAQ session on the law’s provisions.
- Our detailed SECURE 2.0 Act white paper, reviewing the provisions important to your plan and participants
- A downloadable SECURE 2.0 Act FAQ document, which answers, in detail, the questions submitted by plan professionals at our live webinar sessions
- A growing collection of viewpoint articles from our ERISA and benefits consulting experts on various aspects of SECURE 2.0
This promises to be a busy year for SECURE 2.0 activity. Check our resource page often for the new information.
It’s about time—quarterly highlights and participant outreach for Q2
To help participants continue to progress on their financial goals and retirement strategy, despite the ongoing economic challenges, we’re dedicating our Q2 quarterly highlights to financial literacy and health.
- Email dates are April 25–May 12
- Topics include smart money moves and strategies for managing debt as these are the top areas of focus for participants based on the results of our newly released “Stress, finances, and well-being” report
Our upcoming journey-based outreach points participants toward better retirement saving habits and a more tailored planning approach.
- Emails are queued up for June 5–23
- We’ll nudge participants to start saving, save more, or consider personalizing their retirement strategy based on their needs
- If your plan offers John Hancock Personalized Retirement Advice, we’ll encourage participants to review their personalized projected benefit
And to support your own workplace communication efforts, our advocacy components will include a flyer, a presentation, and more—all delivering tips on how participants can break the cycle of stress when it comes to finances. We’ll be making these materials available the week of April 15.
Copies of the upcoming quarterly highlights and targeted outreach—plus downloads of advocacy materials—will be available soon on the It’s about time web page.
Check our new “Stress, finances, and well-being” survey
For nine years now, John Hancock has surveyed retirement plan participants to learn the causes of financial stress and their impact on retirement savings. Reflecting the attitudes of plan participants nationwide, our 2023 “Stress, finances, and well-being” survey results help ensure that our targeted outreach and webinar offerings cover the topics that matter most to your employees or members.
Our insight also helps you directly: You can use our findings to evaluate and help enhance your retirement and financial wellness benefits.
View the results, and be sure to join us for our upcoming webinar, where you’ll learn more about how workers are feeling about their finances.
On-demand webinar—“Strengthening financial well-being together”
Your employees’ financial well-being is one of your top priorities—and it’s one of ours as well. Our on-demand webinar shows how we’re partnering with plan sponsors to improve financial skills and outcomes in the workplace.
Join Kelley Palmer, head of member & participant marketing and engagement, North America, and Jeffrey Fernandes, director of in-plan solutions, product management, as they guide a discussion covering our:
- Personalized engagement program
- Emergency savings account
- College planning guidance
- Financial wellness reporting and other plan sponsor resources
Register now for access to “Strengthening financial well-being together.”
Now get more detail on your participants’ retirement planner experiences
A newly available plan-level report provides deeper insight on who’s engaging with the retirement planner tool, what they’re accomplishing during their visits, and how usage aligns with retirement readiness.
Highlights include:
- Both total and unique user counts of participants who’ve completed the retirement planner tool
- Detail on the users who’ve increased their contribution as a result of using the tool—including their age and average increase percentage
- A comparison of your participants’ tool-related contribution increases versus all John Hancock plans
- A breakout of how large a share of projected retirement expenses your users are on track to cover (retirement planner tool scores), as well as your plan-wide averages versus all plans
Benchmarking numbers are based on our entire plan base, including both core and open-architecture plans.
See a sample of our new report, and contact us for your own plan’s report based on the latest available data.
Now forming—John Hancock’s research hub
Just as you work hard to understand and meet the needs of your employees, we have an ongoing commitment to fully understand the needs and preferences of our customers. With this in mind, we’re establishing a new research panel—John Hancock’s research hub—to help ensure that the voice of our customers is reflected in our business decisions every day.
Here’s what you need to know:
- We’re inviting a limited number of randomly selected end customers to join the hub.
- Some of your participants may receive an invitation.
- Those who opt in will be invited periodically to take part in research activities.
- The panel is completely voluntary and won’t affect their services with John Hancock.
We’ll use feedback and insight from research hub members to help us steer key initiatives, create better experiences, and increase participants’ satisfaction with their retirement plans.
Related viewpoints
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Important disclosures
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.
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. 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, neither entity is undertaking to provide impartial investment advice or give advice in a fiduciary capacity. Securities are offered through John Hancock Distributors LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.
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