MassMutual isn’t waiting on further retirement rhetoric from Congress and the White House. Instead it’s charging ahead in an effort to make it cheap and simple for smaller employers to offer 401(k)s to workers.
The financial services behemoth announced enhancements today to its small-business centric retirement savings offering, which has now expanded into two programs.
Both are designed for businesses with less than $15 million in assets and feature simplified investment lineups, affordable pricing and fiduciary support.
According to a statement from Mass Mutual, the basic version of the small-biz 401(k) solution, dubbed Aviator, has been upgraded from its original iteration, in that it now includes:
- Reduced pricing, including new break points for fees as assets accumulate within the plan;
- The introduction of new target date fund families in the MassMutual Select T. Rowe Price Retirement Funds, Legg Mason Total Advantage Funds and IndexSelect;
- Additional zero-revenue investments, including more than 500 options from more than 60 investment managers;
- Streamlined installation and administration with several automated services available, including enhanced automatic enrollment and automatic escalation services; and
- Introduction of automated employee engagement campaigns that use sophisticated targeting and behavior science techniques.
And for businesses requiring greater support—as well as 3(16) and 3(38) services—the company is now offering Aviator Pro. This version was specifically designed “to guide and help protect plan sponsors with administrative and investment duties, respectively.”
“While most Americans who work for large employers enjoy access to 401(k) retirement savings plans, those who are employed by small businesses often lack the same opportunity to achieve financial security in retirement,” Tina Wilson, head of MassMutual’s Investment Solutions Innovation, said in a statement.
“Many small businesses don’t have benefits departments so administering a 401(k) plan can be a challenge,” Wilson said. “Aviator Pro is designed as a turnkey solution with guardrails designed to help small businesses avoid making costly administrative or investment mistakes.”