Top Takeaways:

• Pacific Life’s Workforce Benefits team targets small to mid-sized employers, offering a range of insurance products including dental, vision, group term life, disability, and a supplemental health suite, leveraging technology to provide a seamless experience for brokers, employers, and employees.
• The Institutional Retirement Solutions Group focuses on pension risk transfer (PRT) and defined contribution lifetime income (DCLI) business, ensuring secure retirement outcomes for existing pensioners and future retirees.
• Both are integral to Pacific Life's strategy, with a commitment to allocating resources to support plan sponsors and ultimately empowering employees.
• Technology plays a crucial role in both teams’ strategies, simplifying complex processes and enhancing the overall experience for consumers.
• Pacific Life's digital-first approach to employee benefits eliminates the friction caused by legacy systems, providing seamless and efficient service that is unmatched in the industry.

As the job market continues to grow and competition for top talent intensifies, Pacific Life highlights how employers can enhance their benefits packages to become the employer of choice.

On this episode of The Wave Strength, host Jim Breen, AVP and Head of Marketing for Institutional, talks with Pacific Life’s Karen Neeley, VP of the Institutional Retirement Solutions Group, and Erich Sternberg, SVP and Head of Workforce Benefits, about the unique opportunities employers have today to enhance their benefits packages through comprehensive workforce offerings and retirement solutions. They also discuss how Pacific Life is helping to offset the challenges in managing and accessing these benefits through innovative technology and strategic partnerships.

Both businesses, each less than five years old, are key components of Pacific Life's strategy: the Institutional Retirement Solutions Group concentrates on retirement income solutions, while the Workforce Benefits division focuses on delivering comprehensive employee benefits.

Solutions Employers Can Offer to Help Their Employees Today and in the Future

With a focus on employees today, the Workforce Benefits division targets small to mid-sized employers, offering a range of insurance products including dental, vision, group term life, disability, and a supplemental health suite. Their approach leverages technology to provide a seamless experience, avoiding the complications of legacy systems.

When looking to the future, the Institutional Retirement Solutions Group at Pacific Life focuses on PRT and DCLI. They aim to provide secure retirement outcomes for existing pensioners and future retirees. The team supports institutions looking to eliminate pension risk by assuming responsibility for the retirement benefit payments and seamlessly managing plan administration.

“In the pension risk transfer business, we are there to guarantee the retirement security for those existing pensioners and ensure the retirement income they worked hard to earn is protected, while removing that pension liability and risk from a plan sponsor's balance sheet" says Neeley.

In addition, the team addresses the decline in defined benefit plans by offering embedded lifetime income solutions within employer-sponsored retirement plans to ensure participants can create “personal pensions” and securely draw down their savings, providing stability and peace of mind for the future. 

The Challenges in Educating Employees and How Technology Offers the Solution

Technology is also pivotal in both divisions, setting their offerings apart and driving transformative improvements for plan sponsors, employers, and their workforce.

Neeley highlights the need for personalization and automation in retirement solutions, ensuring that employees have a "set it and forget it" experience. She points out that a significant portion of employees rely on their employer's retirement savings benefits, yet many lack a strong understanding of these benefits. This disconnect underscores the need for personalized education journeys to help employees fully utilize the benefits available to them.

Sternberg echoes this sentiment. He cites legacy technology systems as the primary challenge complicating the benefits experience for both employers and employees. By leveraging its 100% digital ecosystem, built from scratch, Pacific Life aims to simplify these processes. In turn, this allows employees to be more engaged, gaining transparency to network providers, claims status, and immediate access to ID cards.

Pacific Life is dedicated to enhancing the consumer experience through technology, making it easier for employees to understand and access their benefits. This approach helps employees make better decisions and supports employers in attracting and retaining top talent.

"Our technology enables easier implementation and management for brokers and employers and gives employees access to their benefits information. It’s exciting to build solutions that make a difference—simplifying the employer’s world and serving employees and their families well,” says Sternberg.

“Perfectly said,” says Neeley. “You wouldn't drive a car without car insurance. You wouldn't live in your house without homeowner's insurance.” She goes on to say ensuring that we're driving that awareness, driving that education, and most importantly, driving that adoption is critical.

Pacific Life's commitment to innovation and technology is transforming the retirement savings and employee benefits landscape. By simplifying complex processes and providing comprehensive, user-friendly solutions that prioritize the needs of the customer, Pacific Life is making it easier for employers to attract and retain top talent.

Additional Resources:

For more information on retirement savings, download the Decoding Retirement: Key Insights Into Participant Preferences For Lifetime Income Options white paper.

For more information about employee benefits, visit the Pacific Life’s Workforce Benefits YouTube channel.

About Karen Neeley

Karen Neeley is the head of Institutional Retirement Solutions at Pacific Life, where she leads the Pension Risk Transfer and Defined Contribution Lifetime Income business lines. Prior to joining Pacific Life in September 2023, she served in the financial services industry for nearly two decades, in various leadership roles driving transformative growth and delivering retirement outcomes.  

About Erich Sternberg

Erich Sternberg leads the Workforce Benefits business at Pacific Life, dedicated to innovating employee benefits. He became its first member over two years ago, bringing his extensive experience as an entrepreneur and leader in various insurance and employee benefits organizations.