Thought Leadership – Strategic Benefits Advisors

Now is the time for employers to educate themselves on how AI can benefit HR

September 25, 2020| By Jay Schmitt, ASA

Employers are increasingly exploring artificial intelligence as a means of solving their HR challenges. But a host of challenges — from a general lack of consensus about what “AI” even means to systems integrations issues — have slowed industry adoption. Now is a good time for employers to educate themselves on what AI means and how it can benefit the HR function.

artificial intelligence (AI),Employee Benefit News

Pandemic sharpens focus on employee financial wellness

September 21, 2020| By Leslie Olds, FSA, EA, FCA, MAAA

COVID-19 has made financial wellness a hot topic in 2020 as employees seek to become more financially resilient. Here are some initial steps plan sponsors can take to gauge how well employees are using their existing benefits and determine whether additional financial wellness benefits are called for.

financial wellness

‘Free’ plan implementation can come with big costs

September 16, 2020| By Andy Adams

“Free implementation” has become a ubiquitous element of benefit plan administration proposals. The appeal to plan sponsors is understandable, but rest assured, with free implementation, you get what you pay for. Understanding the true cost of implementation will help plan sponsors evaluate potential benefit administrators and initiate the implementation process with eyes wide open and a more realistic budget.

plan implementation,PLANSPONSOR

You’ve frozen your pension — now what? 6 steps in terminating a plan

August 25, 2020| By Mindy Zatto, FSA, EA, FCA, MAAA

Each phase of pension plan termination involves numerous decision points and incredible amounts of data-crunching.

BenefitsPRO,pension plans,plan termination

To keep pension plan liabilities accurate, get to know participants’ marital status

August 5, 2020| By the SBA Team

Confirming marital status when a participant dies is an important part of a plan administrator’s responsibilities, but it takes legwork and personalized attention. Here are some tactics we have used with great success.

marital status,pension plans,PLANSPONSOR,Retirement plans

Here’s how to create a SECURE Act plan of action

March 6, 2020| By Leslie Olds, FSA, EA, FCA, MAAA

Given the SECURE Act's broad scope and nuanced provisions, how should plan sponsors prioritize their responsibilities under the new law? Here's a systematic approach for developing a SECURE Act plan of action.

Legislation,Retirement plans,SECURE Act

Preventive maintenance is key to retirement plan health

January 15, 2020| By Jay Schmitt, ASA

Periodic checkups can keep plans running smoothly and help plan sponsors identify issues early, before those become difficult and expensive to correct. Such audits come in two varieties—transactional audits and operational audits.

operational audits,PLANSPONSOR,Retirement plans

A background on retirement plan cyber crimes and how to mitigate them

December 23, 2019| By Rebecca Moore, Managing Editor of Digital for PLANSPONSOR

The onus of safeguarding plan participants from fraud does not fall solely on the recordkeeper. Both DC plan sponsors and recordkeepers need to agree on fraud-resistant processes that are clearly documented, rigorously implemented and consistently followed. Here are a few tips.

PLANSPONSOR,retirement plan data fraud

Retirement readiness starts at work

November 5, 2019| By Leslie Olds, FSA, EA, FCA, MAAA

Every year, 3.8 million people in the U.S. reach retirement age. How can plan sponsors help workers get ready? Offering a retirement readiness program that considers employees’ emotional, financial and healthcare needs can go a long way toward helping them prepare.

BenefitsLink,retirement readiness

Keeping up with all the players in outsourced benefits administration

August 27, 2019| By Andy Adams and Jay Schmitt, ASA

The benefits outsourcing market is evolving rapidly, making it hard for plan sponsors to know what to look for — and who to consider — when preparing RFPs for the outsourcing of defined benefit, defined contribution, health and welfare and nonqualified benefits. Here are some tips.

benefits administration,PLANSPONSOR,RFP process,vendor management

Where plan sponsors and recordkeepers stand on multi-factor authentication

August 14, 2019| By Kim Shumate

We surveyed plan sponsors and 401(k) recordkeepers to determine how they are using multi-factor authentication (MFA) as a tactic for mitigating defined-contribution plan fraud and protecting sensitive participant and plan information. Here's what we found.

BenefitsPRO,multi-factor authentication,security

How to walk the line with pension overpayments

June 18, 2019| By Mindy Zatto, FSA, EA, FCA, MAAA and Mary Shah, FSA, EA, FCA

SBA principals Mary Shah and Mindy Zatto discuss ways to recoup pension overpayments that satisfy regulators and do not place burden on retirees, as well as how to prevent overpayments from happening.

defined benefit plans,pension overpayments,PLANSPONSOR

Finding the right voluntary benefits broker may be trickier than clients realize

June 18, 2019| By Jay Schmitt, ASA

When selecting a provider for voluntary benefits, small to midsize companies often turn to the same broker that serves their medical or retirement plan needs. But medical and retirement benefits brokers may lack the knowledge or impartiality required to deliver optimal service in the voluntary benefits space. An unbiased third party that neither sells insurance products nor receives commissions when its clients select insurance products can help with the broker search.

Employee Benefit News,vendor search,voluntary benefits

Is your nonqualified plan causing you anxiety? Here’s what to do

May 6, 2019| By Lynn Bullard, ASA, EA, FCA

Nonqualified retirement plans are less common — and more frequently misunderstood — than their qualified plan counterparts. This article highlights common nonqualified plan challenges that HR managers and benefits coordinators may encounter.

Employee Benefit Advisor,Nonqualified plans

Safeguarding DC plan data is about more than cybersecurity

February 27, 2019| By Andy Adams and Jay Schmitt, ASA

PLANSPONSOR,retirement plan data fraud

Plan sponsors could consider a different solution to provider woes

December 4, 2018| By Andy Adams and Jay Schmitt, ASA

Occasional employee complaints about a benefit plan are inevitable. But when they become a regular occurrence, it can point to more significant problems with a plan administrator or other vendor. Companies that find themselves in this position have several options — including an often-overlooked option that we call "vendor recovery."

PLANSPONSOR,retirement plan providers,vendor recovery