401(k) Specialist Issue 3 - 2021 - 30

AUGUST
JIM SAMPSON, Hilb Group Retirement Services
Kill the Jargon
Before It Kills You
WHO SAYS RETIREMENT plans aren't fun?
Not Jim Sampson, director of retirement advisory services with Hilb Group Retirement
Services.
He recently landed a group plan previously serviced by a non-specialist advisor. The first
thing he did upon taking over was to " attack " the pricing, which resulted in significant reductions
with their existing provider.
He then moved to the plan's design. The company is a home health care service mainly for
" People just figure
it's best to auto
everything, but we
need to be careful,
or we'll auto
ourselves right out
of a job "
James F. Sampson, AIF®, C(k)P®,
CPFA is Director, Retirement Advisory
Services with Hilb Group Retirement
Services.
disabled, underprivileged children. The workforce isn't highly compensated, and English is a
secondary language for many employees. The result was low participation in the plan.
" The company agreed to a match, which is always a huge step, " Sampson explained. " We
implemented auto-features; auto enrollment at 6%, an auto increase of 1% up to 10%, and
target-date funds for the QDIA. We coupled that with a robust communication campaign. We
spent a week onsite doing both group and one-on-one workshops. Once it all kicked in, their
participation went from the low 40% range up to the mid-80%; it essentially doubled. "
The average contribution went from 2.6% up to 6.3%, so he got more people to participate
and more saving at a robust rate.
The fun came in the form of EvoShare, the micro savings-oriented FinTech and cashback
company that puts spending rewards into retirement plans, 529s, and other investment vehicles.
" The
home health care company is based in Florida, and pretty much everybody buys
everything at Wal-Mart-groceries, clothes, you name it, they buy it there, " Sampson said. " I
asked how many people go to Wal-Mart once a month and they spoke up and said more like
once a week. I asked how much they spend, and one woman in the back laughed and said
probably $200 each week. I said we should probably get Wal-Mart to pay for their 401(k). "
They thought he was joking, but he explained the EvoShare concept and that a percentage
of their purchases goes back into their 401(k).
" They realized that money for their retirement plan doesn't only have to come from their
paycheck. It was a great example of how this plan went from just existing aimlessly to one
that people were suddenly paying attention to and about which the employers were proud. It
was a great transformation. "
The key was the week onsite and constant communication.
" People just figure it's best to auto everything, but we need to be careful, or we'll auto
ourselves right out of a job, " Sampson concluded. " To me, it's always been that marriage of
plan design and communication. That makes a plan sync. You put the controls in place to get
people into a position to succeed, and then you follow that up with that one-on-one conversation.
But you have to speak their language. I don't mean English or Spanish; I mean English
versus financial because people don't get what we're saying half the time. You have to kill the
industry jargon, or it will kill you. "
30
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401(k) Specialist Issue 3 - 2021

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