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News & Views | Q4 2020 Page 3 of 4

Trustee Recruitment
Identifying your target population for a vacant trustee position is an important first step in recruiting trustee candidates. Perhaps
you have specific requirements for the positions – a certain department, labor or management representatives, retirees. In addition,
many plans require that their trustees are plan participants. You may also want to evaluate potential trustees for their level of
knowledge and interest in the subject matter that the board of trustees regularly considers.
Once you know where to look for candidates, it will be important to develop interest in the position. Potential candidates will want
to know what are the expectations for the position, such as time spent, board orientation, and opportunities and requirements
for continuing education, for example. A strong and well-developed board of trustees will have many of these defined and/or
in place and may have by-laws that discuss expectations for trustee engagement or performance. They may also have standing
meeting items, particularly continuing education. Some boards even have mentoring programs, where a long-term trustee will be
available to a new trustee for questions and guidance. Setting expectations will help you recruit candidates that are willing, able,
and enthusiastic about assuming important fiduciary and trustee responsibilities.
Trustee Retention

Now you have a new trustee, ready to join your board of more seasoned trustees! Congratulations! But…your work is not done.
Not only do you want to retain your new trustee and help them learn and understand their new responsibilities – you also want
to retain your existing trustees. Making sure trustees understand the expectations of their positions and that they have ongoing
opportunities for continuing education are just a couple of retention strategies. Trustees can be motivated by leading positive
improvements to your plan and helping employees further their opportunities for a secure retirement. Bringing education about
industry trends, benchmarking plan data, and keeping up to date about legislative developments help trustees identify areas they
can focus on for plan improvement.

EMPOWER RETIREMENT ACQUIRES MASSMUTUAL RETIREMENT PLAN BUSINESS

In early September, Empower and MassMutual jointly announced that they have agreed that Empower will acquire MassMutual’s
retirement plan business. The terms of the agreement, subject to regulatory approval, provide for the transfer to occur by the end
of this year.

Empower is a leader in the retirement industry and will have roughly 67,000 retirement savings plans once the transfer is complete.
Empower has grown annually at more than twice the industry average rate, largely due to their integrated financial technology
tools, their commitment to customer service, and their commitment to governmental defined contribution plans.

NFP is keeping a close watch as this transfer occurs and will keep clients with MassMutual fully informed of developments as they
occur. Please reach out to your NFP representative if you have questions or concerns.

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