Employers who want to keep retirees' assets within their company-sponsored retirement plans need to reach out to people personally, according to a new LIMRA study. The study found that retirees and pre-retirees who were proactively contacted by their retirement plan providers around the time they leave their employer are twice as likely to keep their retirement plan assets with the plan provider.

"With more than $400 billion per year rolling out of employer-sponsored retirement plans and into IRAs, plan providers are looking for ways to keep these assets under management," said Matthew Drinkwater, associate managing director for LIMRA Retirement Research.  "Our study found participants who are contacted around the time that they retire or leave their employer were much more likely to retain their money in their employer-sponsored plan account."

Personal contact works much better than mailed appeals, the study found. Contact methods such as phone, in-person or any other way that allows for personal two-way communication are much preferred to passive methods such as mail or email. The report recommended that plan providers expand their call center staff rather than expand the program's mailing budget to more effectively reach out and retain plan participants.