Tough times have employers looking to improve retirement benefits

Employee Benefit Adviser, September, 2008 by Molly Bernhart

It may be difficult to see the silver lining of a recession, but the truth is that bad economic times provide many opportunities for employee benefit advisers.

"When the market's up it's easy to not look backwards, but when it's down it's a good time to look at the plans," says Neil Netoskie, retirement plan adviser for Compass Bank.

A new Hewitt study shows that companies are more actively managing their retirement plans this year and focusing on reducing retirement plan risk. Experts agree economic uncertainty reinforces this trend.

"Employers and employees are both feeling a crunch across the board. With gas prices going up and the general economy it is creating quite a bit of pressure," says Alison Borland, defined contribution consulting practice...