Innovative Advisors Pilot iJoin Mobile Retirement Planning Solution

SANTA ROSA, Calif., Sept. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The majority of defined contribution plan participants have little understanding of how much to save or where to invest their retirement savings.

The Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2011 Retirement Confidence Study states that less than half of workers (42 percent) report they and/or their spouse have tried to calculate how much money they will need to save by the time they retire to live comfortably.

"I was intrigued by a way to engage participants through a means that most are familiar with -- their smartphone or iPod. Being able to get them to take action to improve their savings has always been elusive. I saw iJoin as a way to empower them to take control over their retirement savings," said Jim Sampson, AIF, who lead some of the pilots. "Everyone who came to my meetings went through the process, with almost all enrolling in the plan. Most importantly, most enrolled at a high deferral rate as a direct result of the iJoin process."

"iJoin provides an intuitive way to discuss what most people consider an intimidating subject," said Kevin Cicci, AIF. "In our pilot, we were hoping to see an increase in the savings rate of existing participants while also engaging employees who were eligible for the Plan but not yet participating. The results were beyond our expectations. The clients that utilized this program were excited about the positive feedback and the high ratings by their employees."

The total results for the eight pilots across the country were outstanding:

• 97% chose to participate in their retirement plan compared to the industry average of 78.8%
• 68% selected a higher contribution percentage than saving before iJoin
• Average savings rate was 10.6% compared to the industry average of 7.5%
• 81% selected guidance in their investment choice leading to more suitable investment allocations

About Cornerstone Retirement Advisors, LLC - Division of Cornerstone Group, specializing in employee benefits consulting, retirement plan administration, human resource consulting and payroll. James F, Sampson, AIF® is a managing principal, focusing on retirement plans with less than $20M in plan assets.

About DC Advisors, LLC - Provides institutional investment consulting and educational services to Plan Sponsors. Kevin J. Cicci, AIF® leads the firm's practice and has 15+ years of experience in the retirement plan and investment consulting industry.

About Left Coast Solutions, Inc - Established in 2008 in Santa Rosa, California, Left Coast Solutions is the owner of the iJoin mobile Web guidance and enrollment software. For more information, go to http://www.ijoinplan.com.

About iGATE Patni - Provides consulting, technology, business process outsourcing and product engineering services. Global organization with 26,000+ people servicing 360 Fortune 1000 clients. As technology partner, iGate Patni has been responsible for building the cutting-edge iJoin solution. For more information, go to http://www.igatepatni.com.

CONTACT:
Kendall Kay
Chief Marketing Officer,
Left Coast Solutions, Inc
617-803-6344
[email protected]

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SOURCE Left Coast Solutions, Inc