Plan sponsor newsletter
Q3 2023
It’s about time—quarterly highlights and participant outreach for Q3
To help keep participants focused on and enthusiastic through the summer and early fall months, we’re dedicating this quarter’s It’s about time activities to Checking in on your financial independence.
Our financial well-being quarterly email dates are July 25 through August 18.
- Topics include tracking your progress and projecting your income needs in retirement.1
- On-demand education covers retirement planning and understanding the stock market.
Our journey-based outreach hits participant email boxes September 5 through 18.
These targeted messages help nudge participants to start saving, save more, or consider personalizing their retirement strategy based on their needs.
And finally, our Q3 advocacy components will help support your own efforts to promote National 401(k) Day (which falls on Friday, September 8) and open enrollment.
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.
Useful findings from our 2023 financial stress survey
This spring, John Hancock published our ninth annual financial stress survey2 based on a survey of more than 3,800 participants in our clients’ retirement plans. Our 2023 survey spotlights the causes, levels, and consequences of financial stress, as well as potential remedies.
Among the highly relevant findings you’ll learn about in “Stress, finances, and well-being: driving behaviors that matter” are:
- The impact of record-high inflation and rising interest rates
- The connection among participants’ actions, financial situation, and level of stress
- The support they want to help them manage their financial lives
- How retirement plans and financial wellness programs have become must-haves for participants
Dig into the details
Watch the replay of our “Stress, finances, and well-being” webinar for plan sponsors.
Visit retirement.johnhancock.com/stress for an overview and to download our full report.
Read viewpoints from members of our leadership team:
- Deepen relationships by helping plan sponsors tackle participants’ financial stress
- Three reasons employers should help workers manage their financial stress
- Helping workers manage four areas of financial stress
- Financial stress—how financial professionals and plan sponsors are making a difference
Three on-demand webinars to help you understand today’s environment and make better plan decisions
These webinars, led by ERISA and economic experts from John Hancock, supply valuable insight for the new and veteran fiduciaries on your staff and plan committee.
Understanding the roles and responsibilities of a plan fiduciary
This 2023 version of our popular fiduciary webinar features Chris Frank, head of DC consulting, and Ted Pirrera, director and senior ERISA consultant. Topics include:
- The important roles ERISA fiduciaries play and what’s expected of them
- Current DOL and IRS enforcement activity and 2023 priorities
- ERISA litigation trends
- Current hot topics—including SECURE 2.0 compliance
- Best practice considerations
Recession, stagflation, or a new normal?
With change being a reliable constant in the economy and the market, join Frances Donald, global chief economist and strategist, and Nathan W. Thooft, CFA, chief investment officer, of Manulife Investment Management, to hear their views on:
- How to navigate recession risks
- A shifting inflation paradigm and what it may mean for interest rates
- Asset allocation perspectives in a rapidly evolving macro and market environment
Q2 2023 legislative update
Join Chris Frank, head of DC consulting, and Tami Guimelli, assistant vice president and associate chief counsel, for their latest review of the new and pending laws and regulations that could affect your plan and participants.
This quarter, they discuss:
- What’s new with SECURE 2.0
- IRS and DOL priorities for 2023
- The most recent ruling in the Northwestern University case
- Why the DOL dropped its appeal of the case involving its fiduciary rollover guidance
Webinars on topics participants care about
Registration for live, recorded replay and on-demand-only webinars is available for your participants on our webinar web page. We’ll be promoting all these events, as appropriate, in our financial well-being quarterly emails.
Understanding the stock market
(on-demand only)
Every plan participant is an investor. And our five-part special learning series helps give them an understanding of how economic conditions may affect the stock market and their investments for retirement and other financial goals.
Featuring thought leaders from John Hancock and Manulife Investment Management, this series includes:
1 “Introduction to the stock market,” available beginning June 14
2 “Understanding risk,” available beginning June 28
3 “Long-term versus short-term investing,” available beginning July 12
4 “Managing market volatility,” available beginning July 26
5 “Recognizing stock market trends,” available beginning August 9
There is no guarantee that any investment strategy will achieve its objectives.
Making the most of Social Security
(live only)
Representatives from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) will discuss how to calculate your benefits, factors to consider when choosing your start date, and much more. Due to SSA guidelines, a recorded replay won’t be available.
- English language sessions available August 16 and 23
- Spanish language session available August 24
National 401(k) Day Celebration
(live with replays)
English and Spanish language sessions available on September 8
An update on our goal to create better customer experiences
As we head into midsummer, we’re happy to let you know that our plan sponsor services organization continues to make important progress in executing on our commitment to provide exceptional customer experiences for you and your participants.
Areas of focus
Here are several key initiatives we’re focusing on as we enhance our ability to help deliver the responsiveness, follow-through, and resolution that you and your employees need and deserve.
Service excellence—Renewing our customer experience commitment, leveraging our new team structure and functions, and driving our service delivery model
Digital and data—Using our time-tested dashboards and scorecards, integrating new dashboards, and applying deep analysis to help drive the customer experience
Leveraging relationships—Creating new, cross-functional synergies involving our sales, relationship management, product, and operations teams
A renewed customer experience commitment—An all-hands, all-out effort to help make it easy by doing it right the first time, act with urgency and on time, and follow up (and through) to resolution.
The numbers are strong
2022 brought significant gains in call responsiveness—as well as continually higher Net Promoter Scores for participant service, plan sponsor onboarding support, and overall plan sponsor support.3
Important disclosures
1 The projected retirement income estimates for your current John Hancock accounts, future contributions, employer contributions (if applicable), and other accounts set aside for retirement used in this calculator are hypothetical, for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute investment advice. Results are not guaranteed and do not represent the current or future performance of any specific account or investment. Due to market fluctuations and other factors, it is possible that investment objectives may not be met. Investing involves risks, and past performance does not guarantee future results. 2 In December 2022, John Hancock commissioned our ninth annual stress, finances, and well-being survey with the respected research firm Edelman Public Relations Worldwide Canada (Edelman). An online survey of 3,825 workers was conducted between 11/29/22 and 12/14/22 to learn more about individual stress levels, their causes and effects, and strategies for relief. John Hancock and Edelman are not affiliated, and neither is responsible for the liabilities of the other. 3 John Hancock internal data for participant experience from April 2022 to December 2022. Internal data for plan sponsor experience is from February 2022 to December 2022.
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 as well as a platform of investment alternatives that is made available without regard to the individualized needs of any plan through an open-architecture platform. John Hancock Trust Company LLC provides trust and custodial services to such plans. Unless otherwise specifically stated in writing, John Hancock Retirement Plan Services LLC does not, and is not undertaking to, provide impartial investment advice or give advice in a fiduciary capacity.
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