401(k) Specialist Issue 2 - 2023 - 29

PROFILES IN
PARTICIPANT
OUTCOMES
" It meant a lot to come out and talk to them,
not in lingo or jargon but being able to talk
to folks and meet people where they're at,
to help them save for retirement. "
- Brent Bruggink
when to not, and more.
He also connected with the HR team
to ensure all questions and concerns would
be answered or met during the meeting,
including recent bank collapses, recession
concerns, worries over interest rates, moving
money into separate accounts, and other
anxieties, in an effort to alleviate those
questions off of HR to answer.
Unlike their last meeting with the former
treatment services for alcoholism, drug
addiction, and homelessness, with some of
its employees receiving services themselves
to help build back their lives. Many of its
employees needed education on the basics
of retirement and the process of enrolling in
a 401(k).
Prior interactions with advisors had
also soured several employees away from
meeting with financial professionals. The
nonprofit had previously hired advisors
to conduct educational meetings, only
for employees to then be talked down on
during the interaction. " These are folks who
don't have big paychecks, who have lower
balances, and who weren't treated the right
way, " said Bruggink.
Bruggink worked on tailoring the education
to what he calls " 401(k) 101, " where he
and his team met with employees onsite and
talked them through the process of enrolling
into a retirement plan, applying for loans or
hardship withdrawals, distinctions between
pre-tax vs. Roth contributions, when an
individual should apply for a loan versus
advisor, this interaction couldn't have gone
any better. Employees were engaged in the
conversation, so much so that the meeting
went well over time.
Bruggink believes the meeting's success
came down to empathy-understanding
the employees and meeting them at their
current life stage. Not only had he met with
them to go through the 401(k) plan, but
he had earlier spent the day with employees,
learning about their workday and the
workplace culture.
" You can tell that they needed and wanted
some help, which was super motivating
because they were so involved and active, "
Bruggink added. " It meant a lot to come
out and talk to them, not in lingo or jargon
but being able to talk to folks and meet
people where they're at, to help them save
for retirement. "
After the group presentation, Bruggink
and CG Financial conducted one-on-one
meetings for at least six and half hours,
where they met and worked with employees
on enrolling and filling out paperwork
and beneficiaries, while also answering any
questions on the retirement plan, the 401(k)
process, help with investments, dollar cost
averaging, beneficiaries, and more.
Their interaction with employees wasn't
just limited to onsite visits, however. CG Financial
provided fliers, links, and QR codes
for employees to use to schedule 20-minute,
on-demand virtual advice with advisors at
CG Financial. Additionally, the team had
made themselves open on the weekends for
employees who cannot call during normal
business hours.
Results and Moving Forward
Since that day, CG Financial has reported
a 53% increase in participation with
the nonprofit group, along with a 1,116%
increase in website visits and a 280% growth
in unique website visits. The plan now has
a total of 19 active employees, up from 11
before CG Financial came on board.
Looking toward the next six months to
a year, Bruggink hopes to work with the
plan sponsor to include an employer match
in the 401(k). While the team continues to
work with employees on retirement savings,
Bruggink hopes to focus on other areas
within the plan to improve upon, along
with meeting with the employer to coordinate
goals within the retirement plan.
" With our clients, we like to engage in
that plan design conversation, whether that's
a match, changing eligibility, entry dates, "
Bruggink said. " In this case, can it be a
match? Absolutely. We got the plan cleaned
up from a fiduciary perspective, right, and
so now the question is how we can make
that even better for employees. "
ISSUE 2 2023 | 401kSpecialist.com
29
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401(k) Specialist Issue 2 - 2023

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