Make Retirement Planning a Priority in 2014 With Savings Tips from ADP

ROSELAND, N.J., Jan. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As small business owners and their employees plan for a successful year ahead, ADP^® encourages a fresh focus on retirement savings to help prepare for a financially sound future.  As a leading global provider of Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions, ADP helps simplify all aspects of retirement plan administration and compliance.  To help get off to a smart start in 2014, ADP offers retirement savings tips for both plan sponsors and their participants. 

"ADP is committed to making retirement planning accessible and easy for both employers and their employees," said Moneesh Arora, senior vice president and general manager of ADP's Retirement Services division.  "A financially secure retirement is the result of long-term planning.  There is no better time to get started than today, and ADP helps make saving for retirement easy."

ADP offers the following tips for retirement plan sponsors, also included in this infograph:

• Conduct a due diligence analysis of your plan's fees.
• Audit the administrative tasks you must complete as a plan fiduciary.
• Update your fiduciary file.  Document minutes of investment committee meetings and service provider due diligence searches.
• Establish and/or review your investment policy statement.
• Consider developing an employee education policy statement.
• Conduct a plan health review to examine plan savings rates by gender and age and to understand how participants are allocating their savings.
• Optimize your plan by offering automatic options such as automatic enrollment, automatic rebalancing and automatic deferral increases.
• Leverage technology and social communication channels to engage employees.
• Review your compliance testing results to make sure there are no unwelcome surprises in 2014.
• Consider implementing or increasing your plan match to increase employee enrollment and savings.

The following tips, also available as an infograph, can help plan sponsors encourage employees to boost their retirement savings:

• Create a savings mentality.  Employees need encouragement to save for retirement, and it is especially important that they begin now if they have no plan in place.  Remind them that saving something is better than nothing, even if it means saving a small amount each pay period.
• Encourage incremental increases.  Suggest that employees boost their deferral rate this year. For example, if they were saving 4 percent of their salary in 2013, they could bump it to 5 percent this year.
• Tell them how they can save even more for retirement with help from their employer!  Remind employees if your plan provides matching contributions to their 401(k). Explain how much they should contribute in order to get this match.
• Suggest they talk to a professional.  Research shows that using a professional investment advisor improves an investor's confidence level in retirement decisions.  If your 401(k) plan provider offers this feature, urge employees to take advantage of it.
• Remind employees to put their eggs in more than one basket.  A solid investment mix is like a balanced meal—variety is best.  Suggest to employees that they allocate their assets based on their investment risk profile, tolerance, and goals.
• Set reminders.  Help employees stay on track by sending mid-year reminders for increasing their 401(k) contribution.
• Tell employees to think about the basics.  Help them make a list of their retirement goals and needs.  Tell them to ask themselves questions such as: "Where will I live and how much will it cost?" and "How will I pay for health care?"
• Help them mind the gap.  Show employees how to determine how much money they will need in retirement, and encourage them to revisit this process from time to time.
• Remind them they may be eligible for a catch up contribution.  Employees over age 50 can put more money into their 401(k).

"Our focus is on making sure our clients and their employees understand that retirement readiness can be as attainable for them as it can be for individuals employed at larger organizations.  Whether you are administering a retirement plan or planning for your own financial future, resolving to make your retirement savings responsibilities a priority in 2014 can go a long way in helping you secure a comfortable future," Arora added.

About ADP               
With more than $11 billion in revenues and more than 60 years of experience, ADP^® (NASDAQ: ADP) serves approximately 620,000 clients in more than 125 countries.  As one of the world's largest providers of business outsourcing and Human Capital Management solutions, ADP offers a wide range of human resource, payroll, talent management, tax and benefits administration solutions from a single source, and helps clients comply with regulatory and legislative changes, such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  ADP's easy-to-use solutions for employers provide superior value to companies of all types and sizes.  ADP is also a leading provider of integrated computing solutions to auto, truck, motorcycle, marine, recreational vehicle, and heavy equipment dealers throughout the world.  For more information about ADP, visit the company's Web site at www.adp.com.

The ADP logo and ADP are registered trademarks of ADP, Inc.  All other marks are the property of their respective owners. Copyright © 2014 ADP, Inc.

Media Contact:

Jim Duffy
ADP
(973) 712 - 2070       
[email protected]

SOURCE Automatic Data Processing, Inc.