VIDEOPacific Life: Protecting Tomorrows for a Life Well Lived

Pacific Life: Protecting Tomorrows for a Life Well Lived, a new animated, story-driven video produced by Pacific Life’s Institutional Business team, spotlights the challenges confronting retirement plan sponsors and participants, and the strength, stability, and solutions offered by Pacific Life to help participants enjoy financial security in retirement. 

Top Takeaways :

• Retirement plan sponsors, administrators, and participants need support 
• They face confusing regulations, complex products, and difficult choices 
• Participants need help becoming retirement ready 
• Pacific Life “gets it,” and we’re here to help 

At Pacific Life, we know that retirement plan sponsors and administrators have a lot on their plates. With never-ending to-do lists, they’re expected to be “Jacks of all trades,” while simultaneously ensuring that plan participants are educated, enrolled, and supported. Navigating the retirement landscape, and helping participants make sound decisions can be an overwhelming responsibility. 

 Administrators and participants need all the help they can get. They need a partner who appreciates their situation and understands the challenges they face. 

We Get it, and We’re Here to Help

“At Pacific Life, we’re committed to improving retirement outcomes for plan participants. We want to help them maximize their peace of mind in retirement, and minimize the fear of running out of money,” said Russ Proctor, Pacific Life’s assistant vice president and managing director of pensions. “Retirement planning isn’t easy for employees to do on their own, and it's not easy for plan sponsors to help them. We understand the challenges of planning for retirement, and we’re here to help make the process and decisions easier and clearer for plan sponsors and participants.” 

Many employees may not even know where to begin. According to the Department of Labor, only half of Americans have calculated how much they’ll need to save for retirement, and over 25% of private-industry employees with access to a defined contribution plan did not participate in their retirement plan in 2020¹.

“Thinking about retirement finances can produce anxiety, so it’s easy to procrastinate, but planning needs to start as soon as possible,” said Ruth Schau, Pacific Life’s senior director of pension solutions. “Most experts predict we’ll need 70% to 90% of our pre-retirement income to maintain our lifestyle during retirement, and the average American spends about 20 years in retirement¹. However, the 20-year average is not the best estimate to build a retirement plan around. That’s because 50% of Americans will need their retirement savings to last longer than 20 years. That’s where Pacific Life can make a positive impact for plan sponsors and participants.” 

Those are sobering numbers, and they can act as a disincentive to employees who want to participate but are discouraged. The keys to financial wellness and a secure retirement are education and sound planning, so it’s critical for participants to know there’s help available for them, no matter where they are in the process.

“It’s important for individuals to have access to financial tools and resources that consider their immediate and long-term financial needs,” said Chris McGlynn, Pacific Life’s director of pension sales. “Many individuals want to increase their retirement contributions but they're living paycheck to paycheck, or don’t have enough personal savings. There are many of these situations that are barriers to focusing on retirement. Pacific Life continues its support of broad financial education and initiatives to help participants in their financial and retirement journey.”

Happy Retirement Outcomes – It’s What We Do

Pacific Life has over 150 years of experience meeting our customers’ needs and helping to secure their futures. It’s what we do. 

 We start by listening. Through empathy interviews with plan sponsors, employees, and retired participants, we develop a deep understanding of their challenges and issues. By engaging in open dialog and collaboration, we can better understand their concerns and create simple, flexible, and innovative solutions to meet their needs. 

Pacific Life counts over half of the 100 largest U.S. companies as its clients, and in 2022 was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies®², and one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States³.