Not enough Americans are saving for retirement -- and the ones who are, aren’t saving enough. Which is why ING’s Retirement division has launched a number of programs to help encourage individuals to save more in their defined contribution retirement plans.
ING’s goal is to increase plan enrollments, encourage greater contribution rates and provide participants with the advice, guidance and planning resources they need, the firm said in a press release on Thursday.
“The success of our voluntary retirement system depends on Americans taking ownership of their savings and actively contributing to their workplace plans,” said Rick Mason, president of Corporate Markets for ING Retirement Services, in a press release. “Much of the innovation and progress made to encourage employees to save more occurs in the institutional market, in collaboration with our largest customers. The insights and best practices we gain from this work are then shared across broader employer groups, in an effort to positively impact the greatest number of participants.”
Many large companies, ING said, are using targeted messages in their communication and education campaigns to encourage retirement savings, said Wayne Finnegan, head of the Institutional Corporate Markets for ING Retirement Services.
During 2010, ING launched more than 2,000 separate communication programs for its large plan customers to increase employee participation and contribution rates, and drive positive savings behaviors, particularly among low wage earners, the company reported.
The good news is that ING has seen success with campaigns aimed at increasing paycheck deferral amounts. In 2010, the rate at which participants increase their deferrals reached as high as 34%.
