What are the defaults for the retirement plan, and are they set to help or harm the objective of getting every employee across the finish line? We’d hate for the plane to take off with anyone left behind. Our team excels in getting everybody on board

The participants in a retirement plan don’t just automatically climb towards their retirement goals unless there is an intentional and purposeful effort to facilitate the process. If fees are excessive, if contributions are low, or if the communication and guidance in the Break Room is not on target, the gravitational pull will prevent success.

The participants in a retirement plan have the opportunity to set the flight to cruise control once they reach their cruising altitude, meaning proper diversification and rebalancing of their account along a customized glidepath. Using cruise control should mean less turbulence over the course of the journey and should promote better long-term success.

The closer an employee gets to the end of their journey the greater the importance of customized personal guidance. Have they considered where they’d like to land, and when they can land, and how much fuel they need to land? Have they factored into the equation Social Security and ongoing health care costs? It is important to sit down with a coach for in-depth planning, a trusted planner who embodies a teacher’s heart and a servant mindset. Finding the right pilot is key.

There is so much attention on the accumulation process towards retirement, and too little focus on the distribution process. How an employee lands is critical. A safe landing is vital to success and there is nothing automatic about the process. A successful landing means avoiding coming down in a dangerous spot, like a down market or a runway littered with annuities that can erode years of hard work with excessive fees. Landing the plan may be the most dangerous part of flying and must be left to the professionals.