The DC Plan is the Top Benefit for Higher Education Institutions
College and university administrators view a defined contribution retirement plan as the most important benefit for attracting and retaining top talent to their organizations. A recent survey released by Voya of higher-ed administrators adds to the growing data from diverse sectors that recognizes the value and importance of retirement plans to organizational growth and stability.
The results from the Voya survey are even more pronounced than similar surveys from the private sector. Over 80% of respondents indicated that recruiting and retaining talent was their biggest post-pandemic challenge. The perceived solution?
A whopping 87% said their DC plan helps retain employees and 90% said their DC plan helps attract new talent. In fact, the DC plan was seen is the top benefit for attracting new employees.
To help maximize this benefit, 50% of higher-ed plan sponsors started or increased their employer contribution matching since January 2021. May respondents also indicated reviewing or enhancing benefits for highly compensated employees, adding financial wellness benefits, and adding a plan advisor as ways they sought to leverage their retirement plan as a recruiting and retention tool.
Plan Advisors Are Key Partners
Over 2/3 of plan sponsors had an advisor working with their plan and of the 33% without an advisor, nearly all said they planned to hire one. Respondents said advisors helped with plan design, enrollment and education, investment selection, and fiduciary services. Advisors are viewed as key partners in the successful implementation of the retirement plan.
Importance of Values Integration
Interestingly, three-quarters of survey respondents indicated that adopting socially responsible/ESG business practices is more important now than before the pandemic. The growing investor demand for values-aligned investing is something we are seeing across the board. For Christian colleges and universities, this would mean ensuring that plan participants have access to faith-based investment options within the plan fund line-up.
Kingdom(b)
Our Kingdom(b) retirement plan can help Christian higher-ed institutions offer a retirement plan that they can be proud of. Kingdom(b) is a turnkey 403(b) plan featuring faith-based fund options, a dedicated plan advisor, 3(38) fiduciary investment manager services, and much more.
Whether you are an advisor working with Christian colleges and universities or you are a higher-ed institution, Kingdom(b) can be a valuable tool to help you find and retain top talent and meet your employees’ desire to align their investments with their faith values.
Give us a call to find out how Kingdom(b) can help!