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Arizona 403(b) Network a Novel Cooperative Approach

Is it possible to increase financial literacy, employee participation in retirement plans and employer action to boost options available to employees all at once? A network in Arizona has found a way to do just that.

The Arizona 403(b) Professionals, a group of which NTSA President-Elect Adam Pearce was a founder, has been around for just two years. But despite its youth, it is already making difference.

The situation: School districts knew they needed to do something to increase employee participation in their 403(b) plans. But they had a hard time deciding which firm or advisors to enlist in the effort; they wanted to be fair and not favor any, but on the other hand it would be cumbersome to have a large number of vendors meet with employees.

“The service model was not working,” says Pearce. He said that he and the other network founders began wondering whether it would be worthwhile if they started working together.

To address the situation, Pearce, Robert Young, head of Pro Financial Coaching, LLC, a PlanMember Financial Center, and AXA Advisors Director and Senior Vice President Phillip Kim began to talk about cooperating. The effort by Pearce, Kim, Young, as well as GWN Securities, Foresters, The Legend Group, MetLife, Security Benefit, VALIC and Voya gave rise to the new network.

The group has packaged a financial literacy program that schools can use to educate employees about 403(b)s and retirement benefits. They have developed a neutral presentation that provides objective unbiased advice. The participating firms share the workload of traveling to individual schools to make presentations to employees, Pearce reports. And after the presentations, they leave cards with employees on which they can indicate their interest in finding out more.

They are in varying stages of rolling out the program to school districts in Arizona, according to Pearce, who says that in the districts where the network is making the presentations, employee participation in retirement plans has increased.

“It has meant a lot to my business,” says Pearce, but he adds that it is more than that. He says it also is “a great experience” working in this effort with competitors who have become friends.

Pearce adds that it is part of the “new West” — devising new ways of doing new business, not to mention making changes in accordance with other new developments, such as the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule.

The upcoming 403(b) Masters Summit to be held Jan. 25-27, 2017 in Carefree, Ariz. will include a session in which network members Brenda Henning of Foresters Financial and Robert Young will discuss the network and its work with school districts and decision makers.

Pearce also is an NTSA Elite Advisor. Nominations for the 2017 NTSA Elite Advisor Award can be made electronically through Sept. 16, 2016. The nomination form is here.