Reinvention to Facilitate Better Delivery

John Iekel

Providing retirement benefits is a dynamic function, and in an age of accelerating technological transformation that requires reinvention of products and services. An expert panel at the recent SPARK Forum shared some of their experiences in that vein. 

Panelists included Balaraman Jayaraman, Co-founder, President, and CEO of Congruent Solutions; Drew Kettering, Managing Director at Charles Schwab; and Steve Ulian, Managing Director, Defined Contribution and Retirement, Apollo Global Management. Eric Bittel, Director, Head of Wealth Management Consulting, NTT Data moderated the discussion.  

Be Deliberate 

Panelists suggested that a practical approach can be important in embarking on a transformation. 

“You can’t build something and hope it will fit,” said Ulian, arguing that first it is necessary to do research and then follow conventional ways of building retirement saving products. Jayaraman struck a similar tone, noting that it is important to consider demographics and expectations. 

Jayaraman further suggested not pursuing a “giant, monolithic” program, but rather that it is better to “take bite-sized pieces” in pursuing change and innovation. Kettering argued for a similar approach to the application of artificial intelligence (AI), saying that one should “start small.”

Panelists also indicated that it is important to be thoughtful about technology and its role and application. Kettering stressed that one must consider the role technology plays in transforming retirement plan offerings. Ulian went further, saying that one should not “automatically turn to the ‘latest and greatest’ technology. 

AI

Bittel asked the panel for their views on artificial intelligence, suggesting that with its advent, it may be easy for a provider and retirement professional “to feel irrelevant.” 

“We don’t know” where we ultimately will end up with AI, said Kettering. He suggested that the approach to take with it is to test and learn and then decide what direction to take with its use. 

Kettering struck a positive tone about AI as well, remarking that in their business, true, curated data is very helpful but can be hard to obtain—and AI could help in that acquisition. 

Direction and Outcome

Everything that is done should be focused on the question, “what outcome are we trying to achieve?” said Kettering. He added that it is best when efforts are aligned from the top down to achieve an outcome. 

At the same time, Ulian argued that providers “should be client-led” regarding the application of technology, rather than simply introducing it to clients. 
Ulian also remarked on what he called the current trend of “DB-ification” of defined contribution plans. He said that DC plans are in some ways being transformed into DB-like plans—for instance, through auto-enrollment and auto-escalation. And he posited that in his view, the time has come for guaranteed income solutions. 

The Bottom Line

“We have to realize we are always transforming,” said Kettering. “Every touchpoint with your client is an opportunity to engage,” he said, adding, “If you wait for them to come to you, you’ll never engage with them.”