2020 ANNUAL REPORT

Another Year for the Books.

Here is a description of the accomplishments of 2020 as we focused on our message to our community and clients.

On-site financial wellness meetings coupled with individual planning sessions.

We replaced the traditional enrollment meetings with virtual financial wellness discussions. Our research suggested that plan participants wanted more than just the typical session on what the plan benefits were. Most already knew how their plan worked.

We had a structured curriculum in which we presented financial topics that were of interest to today’s workforce. We educated plan participants beyond the traditional issues of asset allocation and risk tolerance. Social Security, Medicare, and student debt obligations ranked the highest for employee’s financial concerns. Our research suggested Social Security issues apply to 90% of retired seniors. This further education brought the realization of their unpreparedness for retirement to the forefront. It compelled actions that went much further than just describing retirement plan benefits.

Our second approach was coupling the semi-annual or quarterly worksite meetings with individual financial planning. We incorporated in-person meetings both on-site and off-site as well as virtual meetings to meet the demands of today’s workforce.

Our overall design provided individual actionable advice from licensed and fiduciary advisors. Studies indicate that 40% of plan participants are currently stressed about their retirement, and 85% of plan participants would use a financial wellness program if offered through their work. We took those returns to heart.

The results were astounding, and requests for individual appointments exceeded our original expectations. We found that the state of financial literacy in today’s environment was drastically lacking in support.

We provide solutions towards the concerns of our workforce.

Our approach served the related focus on reducing the stress and financial concerns experienced in today’s workforce. Our experience suggests that today’s workforce knows they need to save for retirement but many feel it’s not possible. It’s understandable given the concerns.

For the younger millennial workers entering into the workforce today, they are saddled with an ever-increasing number of student debt. In 2018, student debt exceeded $1.48 trillion. Over 44 million Americans are entering the labor market with student debt to the eyeballs!

The concerns of the younger generation have shifted to a lower rate of home purchases and a lower rate of savings as they try to grapple with their debt situation.

At the other end of the age category are the pre-retirees who are concerned about their low savings rate. The majority of pre-retirees are still struggling to have their homes paid off and questioning whether they have saved enough for their retirement life.

Longevity in today’s environment is drastically changed in comparison to previous generations. The average retiree today spends almost the same amount of time in retirement as they did working. This longer life expectancy is proving to be a drain on retirement savings. And, as health care expenses rocket higher, individuals are also concerned about their ability to pay for rising medical care.

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF ANNUAL INCOME DO YOU SAVE?

“Education is the most important weapon which you can use to change the world.” -Nelson Mandela

For too long the retirement planning industry went unchecked. Systems operated inefficiently and without guidance. Retirement, what was once the celebration of a person’s lifelong hard work is now a concern.

• More than 10,000 Baby Boomers are reaching age 65 each day - a pattern that will continue until the year 2030.

• At least 40 percent of Americans are unprepared for retirement.

• Only 1 in 2 Americans have access to a retirement plan of any kind.

• Social Security, the cornerstone of retirement is now underfunded as of 2018.

Retirement readiness is now a crisis. Yet corporate retirement plans such as the 401k are riddled with excessive fees, underperforming funds, and a lack of good solid financial advice.

Our process is designed to challenge the failing system, and we do so by incorporating education and passion.

Our educational method is designed to teach plan sponsors how to modernize their 401k plan. We utilize tools to assess the level of performance of the underlying funds and cut excess plan cost where available. “Trimming the fat” to build a lean, mean retirement machine.

Our passion for helping our community of individuals strive for retirement readiness is exemplified in our easy-to-understand approach. We don’t talk above you with unknown jargon, but instead, we discuss alongside you in simplified speak. We act as your interpreter to a language that is difficult to learn.

Seeing plan participants retire comfortably is our ultimate goal, and we are happy to be able to do so for hundreds of clients each year. Join us and let us add you to our list of successes.