Insurers offering retirement plans are focused on driving down costs and attracting new clients through improved insights and investment performance: Aite-Novarica Group
Boston, MA (Aug. 17, 2021) – Defined contribution plan providers continue to make technology investments across the value chain in response to regulatory changes, expanded competition, and the ongoing pressure related to margins. In a new report, Business and Technology Trends: Defined Contribution Retirement Plans, research and advisory firm Aite-Novarica Group provides an overview of defined contribution retirement plan provider business and technology issues, data about the marketplace, and several examples of recent technology investments by insurers offering defined contribution retirement plans.
“Other industries, like retail, investment banking firms, and airlines, have set self-service and user experience expectations for plan participants,” said Nancy Casbarro, co-author of Aite-Novarica Group’s new report. “The challenge for plan providers is to satisfy these constituencies in a market in which they compete with asset management firms, banks, and other financial services players.”
“Enrollment is a key investment area for maintaining market competitiveness and maximizing internal margins,” adds co-author Manoj Upreti. “Insurers are expanding functional capabilities for their platforms, but they should also keep in mind the third-party enrollment capabilities that are impacting other lines of business, like group benefits, and could affect plan sponsor expectations.”
Among the key findings of the reports are:
- Most technology investment goes toward case installation and distribution. Onboarding requires investments in digital capabilities, data and analytics, and core systems. Insurers are focusing on customer engagement.
- Portal initiatives and communications continue to be vital. A focus on participant financial wellness across the board requires effective communications, reporting, and analytics. Plan sponsors are prioritizing improvements to participant contact center service and educational offerings.
- Regulatory changes will continue to impact the market. Recent regulations have promoted the use of annuities in retirement plans and eased the formation of multi-employer and pooled employer plans.
Click here for the online summary or to download the table of contents.
Report Summary
Defined contribution plan providers are investing in portals for plan participants, sponsors, and advisors, as well as using analytics to improve margins, in order to drive down costs and attract new clients, while retaining existing clients and assets.
This report provides an overview of defined contribution retirement plan provider business and technology issues, data about the marketplace, and several examples of recent technology investments by insurers offering defined contribution retirement plans.
Topics:
- Recent market and financial trends
- Active insurer landscape
- Technology issues, priorities, and examples by functional area
- Top technology priorities for 2021 and beyond
Click here to access the report.
About Aite-Novarica Group
Aite-Novarica Group is an advisory firm providing mission-critical insights on technology, regulations, markets, and operations to hundreds of banks, insurers, payments providers, and investment firms—as well as the technology and service providers that support them. Comprising former senior technology, strategy, and operations executives as well as experienced researchers and consultants, our experts provide actionable advice to our client base, leveraging deep insights developed via our extensive network of clients and other industry contacts. For more information, visit aite-novarica.com.
Source: Aite-Novarica Group
Tags: Aite Group, Aite-Novarica Group, Novarica, portal, retirement planning & savings, trends
