If retirement plan education is supposed to be boring, no one told the Money Advisors on the MoneyAdvice@Work® Team at Francis Investment Counsel. For them, providing holistic financial education and advice is all about engaging participants.
Francis Investment Counsel, a firm established to provide investment consulting to qualified retirement plans and extensive financial education and advice to plan participants, was recently awarded a first-place 2018 Eddy Award from Pensions & Investments in the Service Provider Special Projects category. The nation-wide competition recognizes best practices by defined contribution plan sponsors and service providers in delivering financial education to plan participants.
New Spin on National Save for Retirement Week
The MoneyAdvice@Work® Team put a creative spin on National Save for Retirement Week, recognized every October. Instead of simply repeating the basics – save more, maximize the company match, rebalance – the team created the Fat Wallet Challenge. This week-long event encouraged participants to dive into their retirement plan benefit. Daily tasks included watching short, informational videos and completing related action steps. Participants were prompted to check their accounts, learn more about their investment options, update their beneficiaries, and touch base with a live advisor from Francis Investment Counsel. Each task completed earned entries into the grand prize drawing for several gift cards.
The campaign was made available to the participants of all Francis Investment Counsel clients. In total, nearly 1,500 participants took part in the challenge. Promotion included eye-catching creative work, featuring the MoneyAdvice@Work® Team’s own “Scratch, the Squirrel.” Communications included emails, posters, table tents, buttons, and additional promos through newsletters and social media.
Successfully Engaging Participants
Kelli Send, Senior Vice President of Participant Services at Francis Investment Counsel and leader of the MoneyAdvice@Work® Team, was pleased by the success of the campaign and its Eddy Award-winning recognition.
“Our goal is always to engage participants,” said Send. “We want them to see that even though this ‘money thing’ might seem intimidating, they can do it, one step at a time. The Fat Wallet Challenge helped them do just that – take little steps toward a better outcome – and still have fun in the process.”
Seventh Eddy Award Recognition
Francis Investment Counsel’s 2018 Eddy Award represents the seventh time the Firm’s financial education efforts have been recognized, having most recently won three different Eddy Awards in 2016. The Firm remains steadfast in its commitment to providing creative financial education and communications to the retirement plan participants served in Wisconsin and across the nation.
More information regarding the 2018 Eddy Awards, including a full list of categories and winners, can be found here.
