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

Read: Empower Retirement gets top 401(k) plan sponsorvote

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

Created in 2013, DoubleNet Pay’s app tracks and automaticallypays employees’ bills by integrating with payroll managementsystems. The objective of the application, as described onDoubleNet Pay’s website, is to help participants manage financialobligations each pay cycle so they can know exactly how much moneyremains for discretionary spending.

DoubleNet Pay’s product was conceived to integrate withenterprise level payroll and retirement plan providers, accordingto its website.

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

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

Empower, which is owned by Greenwood Village, Colo.-basedGreat-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co., oversees theretirement plans of more than eight million participants in morethan 34,000 plans. Initial access to the DoubleNet Pay’sapplication 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 10percent or better, regardless of their income,” said Murphy,elaborating on the new partnership in an email. “This new offeringis aimed at helping some participants get better control of theirfinances so that they can have an opportunity to achieve thatdeferral rate.”

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

Empower’s new partnership with DoubleNet Pay is the latestevidence that recordkeepers are fiercely competing to usetechnology to enhance retirement plan participants’ experience andsavings capabilities.

Sponsors and employees can expect further innovation. Murphysaid this latest announcement is part of a product “roadmap” theretirement services company has planned through 2019. Other productrollouts will continue to address saving needs, as well as drawdownstrategies for participants when they retire.

“A key principle of our engagement with participants is tounderstand that each person has very different needs,” Murphy toldBenefitsPro. “Our strategy is to offer a full suite of services andwork very hard with advisors to offer the best solutionspossible.”