Peer Intelligence - Winter 2025

Pension funds cater to two primary client groups: members and employers. However, the needs of different employers can vary significantly. A model that works well for a few large employers may not be suitable for many small employers. Larger employers often have dedicated HR teams to manage pension administration and receive customized service models or reporting from their pension plans, including on-site support and tailored plan designs. In contrast, small employers typically use standardized plan options with simplified administration.

Modern pension systems have evolved to offer online portals where employers can submit contributions, update employee information, and generate compliance reports. These platforms usually integrate with payroll systems to automate data collection and reduce manual entry. Many plans now feature real-time analytics dashboards that track plan performance, participation rates, and funding status.

Our upcoming employer service research will explore the various services our clients offer. The accompanying survey will include questions on data collection and validation, Client Relationship Management, employer reporting, website transactions, and more.

In the meantime, you can find employer-related questions on the PIN itself. Here are some great examples:

Leveraging Employer Relationships: Optimizing the Relationship Between Employer Partnerships and Member Engagement: A breakout session on the reciprocal relationship between pension systems, employer partners, and their members. It discusses how leveraging these relationships allows pension plans to build a more well-informed and engaged member population. The presentation shares service innovations that helped one client reach previously unreachable demographics, directly impacting member engagement and optimizing the overall journey.

Employers and Plan Rules: Do employer units have the ability to limit different elections, such as which plan(s) to offer and/or different options within those plans?
Determining Types of Payments Received from Employers and Their Impact on Pensions: How do other plans determine types of payments received from employers and what the impact on pensions will be?
Account Review for Direct Reporting Employers: If your employers report data directly to the system, when does your system conduct account/data reviews? Do you communicate with employers to validate their reporting, and how do you verify the reporting in the system to ensure the benefit will be accurate?

Stay tuned for the results of our 2025 best practice research, and don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or wish to participate in our ongoing studies. Together, we can enhance the pension experience for all stakeholders.

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