Each quarter, we’ll feature one of TPG’s business divisions to learn about industry news and gain a high-level view of their work. This quarter, we spoke with Mike Walters, Managing Consultant of our Retirement Planning division. Mike joined TPG in 2021 with more than two decades in financial services and retirement plan consulting.
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Our Retirement Planning team specializes in partnering with employers to help provide effective, high-quality retirement plans, essential to recruiting and retaining top employees. They work with a variety of service providers, which allows TPG to customize the right plan while keeping the needs of clients and participants at the forefront.
A DIVISION FOCUSED ON GROWTH
“It’s a good time to be in the TPG Retirement division,” Mike says. “We are looking to hire another consultant, our client base is expanding in a big way, our capacities are increasing, specialties are expanding quickly.” All good things.
Emily Roselle’s promotion from account manager to retirement plan service manager was a significant enhancement. Emily joined TPG over 14 years ago and today serves as the main point of contact for large-sized TPG retirement plan clients. She assists with plan design, benchmarking, plan transitions, and implementation, as well as operational and participant questions. Emily also provides operational guidance to our service team and holds the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS®) professional designation. “Emily knows so much on the technical side of the plans, so she offers fantastic leadership within our team,” says Mike.
Another significant hire within the department was Nicole Bryson, who worked with Mike prior to both of them joining TPG. With nearly a decade of experience with retirement plans, Nicole began her career with a local retirement plan recordkeeper before transferring to an advisory firm doing employee education for 401k plan clients. Today, she has her Series 65 license and a QKA® designation. She enjoys being able to reduce financial stress for her clients. “Nicole specializes in participant education and providing client resources,” says Mike. “For example, this year she’ll be working to put together a video library of responses to the commonly asked questions that we get from clients and committee members.”
WHAT’S THE PLAN FOR 2022?
The last three years have been very difficult for HR teams across all industries to connect with their retirement plan participants in meaningful ways, due to remote work, income losses, and other COVID-caused concerns.
“Each client has different issues, populations, and so on,” says Mike, “so we customize ways for plan participants to be aware of their retirement programs, recognize how they work, and take full advantage of the benefits being offered.”
The TPG team puts together communication strategies for each client, tailored to their demographics, for their 401k plans and any other types of retirement programs. “Because all 401k plans are restating plan documents by July 2022, we are doing a lot of education with our clients, helping them walk through the process and making sure there are new plan design provisions in place. That’s been a big focus for the team.”
NEW CLIENTS & THE ONE PARTNER ADVANTAGE®
TPG’s Retirement Planning division represents small businesses with a growing staff to large corporations employing thousands. Mike is always looking to increase their client base, especially with his team’s growing strength and capacity.
“We typically bring on new clients through referrals – I’d say 90% of our new clients are referred by existing clients as well as by internal referrals through One Partner Advantage,” Mike says. The OPA program is a benefit in which clients of any of our eight divisions – retirement plan consulting, employee benefits, wellbeing consulting, total absence management, healthcare analytics, wealth management, commercial insurance, and personal insurance – take advantage of all TPG has to offer by working with experts across divisions on coordinated solutions that save time and money.
And if you’re thinking of becoming a client through our Retirement Plan division, what is it that you should know? “Our ideal client is someone who values their employees and takes the time to be engaged in providing a quality plan benefit to their people,” Mike says. “The level of service that TPG provides to plan and participants and companies is extremely valuable. We want clients who recognize that, for it to be a good a fit.”
For more information on these or any related topics, consult with TPG’s Retirement Planning division at retirement@tpgrp.com.
