Set Expectations

Expectation is the conflict between frustration and reality.  The first step to creating a low stress retirement plan is a common understanding of everyone’s expectations.  This includes all the entities involved in the retirement plan process.  From the employees’ perspective, they see only the processes listed below in blue.  However, the employer must look at a retirement plan from a very different perspective.  The process in orange is a typical list of the people involved in the management of a retirement plan. 

Knowledge of a customer’s needs is where satisfying expectations begins.  Knowing the process necessary for a low stress retirement plan is critical to fulfilling expectations. This is an outline of the operation of a retirement plan.

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• Develop a retirement plan strategy
• Design a plan to fit the business
  
• Create a method of choosing and monitoring investments
  
• Have a plan that is competitive within the company’s industry.
  
• Manage the vendors that interact with the retirement plan.
  
• Stay compliant with fiduciary standards
  
• Provide education to employees that satisfies fiduciary requirements.
  
• Manage employee communication.
  

Developing a strategy that will accomplish this process and be reasonably flexible is important.  Businesses change, employee demographics changes, and regulations change so the operation cycle of a retirement plan must be able to change.  The result is that customer expectations change too. The next step to fulling customer expectations is developing a retirement plan strategy. ​ (Back)