Pension and Investments Eddy Award 2020
We received a Pensions & Investments Eddy Award in the financial wellness category. The Eddy Awards are an annual program recognizing plan sponsors and service providers that exhibit best practices in offering investment and financial education to defined contribution plan participants.
What was anticipated to be a year of growth and expansion took a drastic turn in March when we were faced with COVID-19 and the effects of this unprecedented pandemic, including extreme stock market volatility. As the year progressed, the majority of us were faced with additional challenges and obstacles such as: a shift to working from home, helping our children with homeschooling, adjusting to social distancing, adapting to a reduction in pay, and facing the ongoing devastation from a record number of fires. To help you manage the changes in your day-to-day environment and responsibilities, as well as manage your financial wellbeing, we developed resources and tools to help you navigate these difficult circumstances.
In addition to adopting provisions of the CARES Act, offering COVID-related distributions up to $25,000, loan repayment suspensions, and RMD suspensions — we modified our loan provisions to expand loan eligibility. Furthermore, we quickly pivoted from offering in-person workshops and one-on-one meetings to increasing webinars and providing virtual one-on-one meetings with your local Retirement Specialists. To address the new financial challenges resulting from a reduction in pay and/or loss of income experienced by a spouse or significant other, we introduced new webinars that focused on budgeting, debt reduction, and tools to help reduce expenses. We also added educational information to our website addressing the importance of avoiding headline-driven investment decisions during periods of market volatility and the value of staying focused on your overall financial plan.
We encourage you to take advantage of the helpful tools and resources we offer to help you on your financial wellness journey. It really is all about you!