Empower Retirement is adding a new cash flow management feature to its platform for some of participants in its record-kept plans.

Read: Empower Retirement gets top 401(k) plan sponsor vote

Empower participants will have access to a financial management and payment tool from DoubleNet Pay, an Atlanta-based software company, according to a statement from Empower.

Created in 2013, DoubleNet Pay’s app tracks and automatically pays employees’ bills by integrating with payroll management systems. The objective of the application, as described on DoubleNet Pay’s website, is to help participants manage financial obligations each pay cycle so they can know exactly how much money remains for discretionary spending.

DoubleNet Pay’s product was conceived to integrate with enterprise level payroll and retirement plan providers, according to its website.

In helping employees manage their budgets, and setting up payments that are automatically deducted from paychecks, participants in retirement plans can have a clearer understanding of how much of their earnings can be deferred to 401(k) plans, potentially affording some participants the opportunity to increase contributions.

“One of the first steps toward saving for tomorrow is effectively managing one’s finances today,” said Edmund F. Murphy, president of Empower Retirement. “We believe that engaging employees in their retirement planning and saving requires a holistic solution."

Empower, which is owned by Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co., oversees the retirement plans of more than eight million participants in more than 34,000 plans. Initial access to the DoubleNet Pay’s application will be limited to a select group of sponsors, according to the statement.

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“We know that a participant ought to be saving at a rate of 10 percent or better, regardless of their income,” said Murphy, elaborating on the new partnership in an email. “This new offering is aimed at helping some participants get better control of their finances so that they can have an opportunity to achieve that deferral rate.”

The success of automatic features, such as auto-enrollment and auto-escalation, in improving retirement outcomes suggests to Murphy that an automatic cash flow management system is likely to help participants increase their deferral rates, though he said it is too early to speculate on the program’s potential effect on deferrals.

Empower’s new partnership with DoubleNet Pay is the latest evidence that recordkeepers are fiercely competing to use technology to enhance retirement plan participants’ experience and savings capabilities.

Sponsors and employees can expect further innovation. Murphy said this latest announcement is part of a product “roadmap” the retirement services company has planned through 2019. Other product rollouts will continue to address saving needs, as well as drawdown strategies for participants when they retire.

“A key principle of our engagement with participants is to understand that each person has very different needs,” Murphy told BenefitsPro. “Our strategy is to offer a full suite of services and work very hard with advisors to offer the best solutions possible.”

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Empower Retirement adds tool to help savers budget paychecks

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