401(k) Specialist Issue 1 - 2019 - 26

DECEMBER
JAMIE GREENLEAF, Cafaro Greenleaf
How to Demonstrate
True Value with a
'Better' Benefit Package
WE'VE HEARD IT for some time-the importance of breaking through silos, straying from lanes
and looking holistically at the plan sponsor's total benefit needs to more accurately develop retirement
plan recommendations.
It's something Jamie Greenleaf is all over, not only because it's the right thing to do, but because
" When I think
of participant
outcomes, I think
of the success of
the population
not just from
their retirement
standpoint but
from building a
better benefits
package. "
Jamie Greenleaf is lead advisor and
principal of Cafaro Greenleaf.
it's the future of the industry.
" Participant outcomes are changing, " Greenleaf, lead advisor and principal of benefits powerhouse
Cafaro Greenleaf, says. " Today, our plan sponsors are viewing benefit dollars more holistically.
When I think of participant outcomes, I think of the success of the population not just from
their retirement standpoint but from building a better benefits package. "
A better benefits package (and participant success) means designing meaningful and relevant
packages for the unique needs of the company, the industry it occupies and the demographics of
the employee population.
" In the past, we've always designed benefits that were for the masses. Now, people are looking
for that personalized package and we're dealing with multiple generations across the organization. "
It begins with a " gap analysis, " but not as traditionally defined.
" If I'm only making $25,000 a year, retirement is not the gap that I'm looking to fill, " she
explains. " The reality is most of my benefits are going to come from Social Security. So, the company
doesn't need a package that's going to auto-enroll that person, but it may need a package that
gives additional life insurance to that employee. "
It's going to lead to more successful outcomes, she argues, because it will retain the employee
population, thereby reducing human capital costs from turnover.
And it's increasingly important as CFOs get more involved in the " dollar spend. "
" You need to show more value than just being a retirement consultant; that's only one part of
the benefit dollar they're looking at. If you can show that by designing more targeted, successful
benefit packages, you're getting their population to retirement at an age of 67, and you're reducing
their future health care costs and future liabilities, you become a real partner to them. "
CFOs then see the value in adding more money to the retirement plan, setting up student debt
reduction programs or moving to HSA plans.
" These are the types of things we've really adopted at Cafaro Greenleaf when it comes to that
participant success. "
Like most forward-thinking 401(k) advisors, there's a heavy emphasis on analyzing the data, and
she points to one situation in particular where it made a major difference.
A longtime client with which Greenleaf and the firm have worked for 17 years started small
and grew significantly, to the point where it now has 3,500 employees at multiple locations across
the country. Management expressed that it was having difficulty recruiting and retaining employees
in certain geographical areas.
" We did an analysis on the total group and wondered if they should increase wages in those
areas, or maybe institute signing bonuses. What the data told us is that, at the locations in question,
there was a high concentration of student loan debt. Because student debt programs are not under
an ERISA umbrella, we were able to design a repayment program, which is going to help them
keep employees that are valuable to them. "
26
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401(k) Specialist Issue 1 - 2019

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