Aon Hewitt, the global human resources consulting and outsourcing business of Aon Corporation, is planning to introduce a fully integrated advisory program to its 401(k) recordkeeping clients, to help improve financial security for American workers.
Under the relationship, Aon Hewitt Financial Advisors, an Aon Hewitt subsidiary, will serve as the provider of investment advisory services and will serve as the fiduciary of the advice and management provided.
Aon said that the Financial Engines has been selected to serve as the independent sub-advisor and it will provide the advisory platform to deliver the service.
The service is expected to give participants whose companies choose Aon Hewitt for administration of their savings plan access to Financial Engines’ full suite of services including Online Advice and Professional Management.
Aon Hewitt’s experience with pension and retiree medical plans will be integrated with the solution to offer the total retirement view to plan participants.
In addition, for workers who enroll in Aon Hewitt’s Professional Management program, registered investment representatives will provide personalized advice including help with savings, managing risk-appropriate portfolios, identifying their income needs in retirement, and turning their 401(k) savings into steady lifetime income.
Financial Engines executive vice president Larry Raffone said that as the nation’s largest independent Registered Investment Advisor, the company is committed to making retirement help broadly available to America’s workers.
Aon Hewitt will introduce this service to defined contribution clients immediately. Aon Hewitt and Financial Engines will continue to support the delivery of advisory services under existing client agreements whereby Financial Engines provides advisory services directly to Aon Hewitt clients.
Aon Hewitt Financial Advisors leader Scott Parry said that the Aon research shows that just 18% of workers are on track to meet their retirement savings needs.
"By integrating the Financial Engines advisory platform into our broader administrative solution, we can deliver more personalized advice and management to 401(k) participants to help them avoid these pitfalls," Parry said.