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You Built the Retirement Plan. But Who Helps Employees Understand It?
Last Updated: August 31, 2026
Employers spend significant time evaluating their retirement plans. Committees review investments, evaluate fees, consider plan design changes, and monitor participation and contribution rates. But there’s another question worth asking:
Who helps employees understand what all of that actually means for them?
Most employers already provide retirement information through their recordkeeper, plan adviser, HR and benefits teams, and other resources. Employees may have access to educational materials, online tools, investment information, and account information. But access to information doesn’t necessarily mean knowing what to do with it.
An employee may know they’re contributing 3% to their 401(k), for example, but still have no idea whether that savings rate is appropriate for their situation. Another may understand that their plan offers Roth contributions but not know whether that option is relevant to them.
The challenge may not be getting more information to employees. It may be helping them understand the information they already have.
Information Isn’t the Same as Education
Retirement planning involves decisions that are personal to each employee.
An employee early in their career may want to know how much they should be saving. Someone in their 40s may be wondering whether they’re on track. An employee approaching retirement may have questions about turning their savings into retirement income. Those questions don’t always have simple, one-size-fits-all answers.
A benefits guide can explain how the plan works. A recordkeeper can provide account information and online tools. A group presentation can introduce important retirement concepts. But an employee may still be left wondering:
• Am I saving enough?
• Should I increase my contribution?
• What does this investment option mean?
• Should I use Roth or traditional contributions?
• What should I be thinking about as retirement gets closer?
• What questions should I even be asking?
That’s where one-on-one education can fill an important gap.
Why One-on-One Education Matters
Group education can introduce employees to retirement concepts, but individual conversations create an opportunity to address questions that are specific to the person asking them.
One employee might need help understanding their contribution rate. Another may want to better understand their investment options. Someone approaching retirement may have questions about what happens when their paycheck stops. And sometimes, employees don’t know what they need to know until they have an opportunity to talk through their situation.
One-on-one education gives employees a place to start. It can help them better understand their employer-sponsored retirement plan, identify the questions they should be asking, and connect general retirement concepts to their own circumstances.
For HR teams, this distinction is important.
HR Shouldn’t Have to Be the Retirement Resource for Everyone
HR and benefits teams are often the first place employees go when they have questions about their benefits. That makes sense. HR knows the benefit, understands the company’s policies, and is already a trusted resource for employees. But retirement questions can quickly become more complex.
These questions may go beyond the appropriate role of HR, and expecting HR to answer every retirement-related question can also put additional demands on teams that already have broad responsibilities. A dedicated retirement education resource gives employees another place to turn when their questions go beyond basic plan information.
How Do You Know Where the Gaps Are?
Before adding more education, HR teams can look at how employees are currently engaging with the retirement plan.
Consider questions such as:
• What retirement questions come up most often?
• Are employees asking HR questions that are difficult to answer?
• Are employees remaining at default contribution rates?
• Do employees have access to one-on-one retirement education?
• Do employees know where to go when they have questions?
The answers can help identify where an education strategy may need additional support.
What Role Do Plan Providers Play?
Retirement plan providers each have an important role, but those roles aren’t necessarily interchangeable:
- • The recordkeeper manages accounts and provides the technology employees use to enroll, make changes, view balances, and access plan information.
- • The plan adviser or consultant may provide investment-related services, plan oversight, education, or other support depending on the arrangement.
- • The employer and HR team manage the benefit and help employees understand how to access and use it.
These resources can work together, but they don’t necessarily provide the same type of individual education:
• A recordkeeper can show an employee their contribution rate. A retirement educator can help them better understand the concepts and questions they may want to consider when reviewing that rate.
• A recordkeeper can show an employee their investment selections. An educator can help them understand the retirement planning concepts behind the decisions they’re considering.
The goal isn’t to replace the existing providers. It’s to fill the space between having information and knowing how to use it.
Introducing RetireAdvisers℠
For employers looking to add another layer of retirement education, PCI’s RetireAdvisers℠ service is one option.
RetireAdvisers℠ is PCI’s dedicated retirement education service, focused on helping employees better understand their employer-sponsored retirement plan and retirement planning concepts. RetireAdvisers℠ provides opportunities for employees to engage with retirement education through:
- • One-on-one education meetings
- • Group retirement education presentations
- • Virtual education
- • Retirement planning resources
- • Educational articles, worksheets, and other materials
- • Education for employees approaching retirement
The objective is education, not individualized investment advice. Employees can ask questions, learn more about their employer-sponsored plan, and better understand the retirement decisions they may face.
This doesn’t replace the role of the employer, HR team, or plan committee. Instead, it adds another layer of support.
Your Retirement Plan Is Only Part of the Employee Experience
Employers invest significant time and resources into building retirement plans that provide valuable benefits to their employees. But providing the benefit is only part of the equation. Employees also need opportunities to understand how the plan works, what decisions they can make, and how the choices available to them relate to their own retirement.
That doesn’t necessarily mean giving employees more information. It may mean giving them someone to talk to. For HR and benefits teams, one-on-one retirement education can provide another layer of support for employees while giving HR a dedicated resource for questions that go beyond its role.
The plan provides the benefit. Education helps employees understand it.
