Mainebiz

V O L . X X V N O. X F ive years ago, fewer than 20% of the employees at Futureguard Building Products, a family- owned manufacturer in Auburn, par- ticipated in the company-sponsored 401(k) investment plan. "I said, 'Really? You think you're going to retire?'" Diane Rogers, vice president of human resources and safety, recalls telling employees. Rogers, who had just been hired and was about to shake things up, convinced the owner to provide a greater incentive to invest. At her urging, the company raised the match from a flat rate of $100 per year to 2% of employee contributions. On a $50,000 salary, that's $1,000. Since then, the match has been increased to 3%. She posted plan information and sent emails, encouraging people to sign up. She hired a new financial planning company, Richard Brothers Financial Advisors in South Portland, which provided quarterly on-site pre- sentations and met one-on-one with employees. She paid attention to indi- vidual employees, urging them to stop throwing away free money that came in the form of an employer match. She explained they could start with a 1% contribution; they wouldn't even miss it from their paychecks. Today, Futureguard has a partici- pation rate of 64%. "e biggest thing is education," says Rogers. "It's now to the point where they say, 'Oh my god, did I miss the deadline?'" Financial stress Financial advisors and human resources experts agree that education and personal attention are key to hik- ing participation rates in employer- sponsored investment plans. "Employers can be more supportive in putting in place a learning platform for their people to be able to handle financial stresses, and that includes making better financial decisions," says Randall Richard, founder and president of Richard Brothers. "Most adults have little to no formal training in financial matters. If you look at studies, employees making less than $75,000 per year, which is the majority, don't have an advisor to help them with financial matters. So what are people doing? ey're talking with other employees who also don't know what they're doing many times, or to family and friends. It's an issue." Employers also struggle, he says. "Employers around the country are struggling with how to help their people," Richard says. P H O T O / C R E D I T F O C U S At Futureguard Building Products in Auburn, Jennifer Cram, senior vice president and HR specialist, and Diane Rogers, vice president of human resources and safety, are joined by the company's financial planners, Randall Richard, founder and president of Richard Brothers, and Neal Richard, principal and COO at Richard Brothers. They're on retractable awning area at FutureGuard. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Investment education B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r Companies find ways to help employees shoulder the cost of retirement M AY 1 3 , 2 0 1 9 24

• Cover