Communication about 401(k) plans fails on participant intent

Participant communication programs do take a lot of data into account when attempting to meet the needs of multiple audiences within the employee population.

But what they fail to take into account, according to a blog post from Cogent Reports (Market Strategies International), is intent—what the participant him- or herself actually intends to make a change to a retirement plan account.

Related: Top 5 industries with the most improved retirement plans

Although depending on workers’ demographics, age, investment knowledge, income, gender and other factors, certain parts of those programs may be more or less effective, but if a participant actually plans to change something, he or she will need more specific information to make the change or information that will help them make a decision about it.

According to the post, ready-to-act participants (RTAs) are the ones who don’t get the information they need to make the decisions and take the actions they’ve already decided to take—and if they don’t get it from their plan communications, they go elsewhere.

They need to know that they can carry out whatever strategy they’ve decided on or make an educated decision about it. And if they don’t get it from their plan, half of them head to social media.

The post points out that there aren’t that many RTAs—Cogent’s most recent survey indicates that just one out of six intends to change investments and even fewer (13 percent) are likely to boost their contributions in the near future.

Such participants are “more likely to be male, younger (millennial or GenX) and use advice to manage their investment portfolios. In fact, half of RTA participants planning to make an investment change are working with a financial advisor.”

On the other hand, those who aren’t ready to act “are much more likely to be self directed, managing their investments without any professional assistance.”

RTAs need information from their plan that doesn’t duplicate what they’re already getting elsewhere, and while they’re confident about their current finances and ability to save for retirement, they worry more about “a large unexpected expense, paying down debt and subsequent anxiety over financial security” than those who aren’t planning to make changes.

RTAs “don’t need to be convinced to adjust their investment allocations or increase their contribution levels,” the post says, but need reassurance that they can manage retirement saving while juggling current financial needs. If plan providers take those needs into account and meet them when adjusting communication strategies, it will go a long way toward winning over this group of participants.