Washington, D.C., May 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of ICMA-RC’s transition to MissionSquare Retirement and its commitment to providing participants with industry-leading investment guidance and customized advice, the company has announced significant enhancements to its Managed Accounts platform. Powered by Morningstar Investment Management, Guided Pathways® Advisory Services offers a personalized roadmap and investment assistance to help participants reach their savings goals at any point on their retirement journey.
The newly enhanced advice platform that powers Guided Pathways Advisory Services provides a more personalized and intuitive user experience. Features include recommendations customized to participants’ retirement and financial goals on when they’re able to retire, how to invest their accounts, and how to withdraw money in retirement. New features include:
- An improved digital experience based on an intuitive, user-friendly, interactive platform that offers participants the ability to take a do-it-yourself approach or work with a knowledgeable financial consultant.
- A new Social Security guidance tool that helps participants decide when to start receiving Social Security benefits.
- Portfolio customization through an enhanced methodology from Morningstar Investment Management that further customizes participants’ recommended investment portfolios.
Based on research conducted by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence at ICMA-RC that assessed employees’ views on the impact of COVID-19, 40% of state and local government workers were very or extremely concerned about being able to retire when they want, and 43% were very or extremely concerned about being able to save enough to be financially secure throughout retirement.
ICMA-RC believes these enhancements to its Managed Accounts platform will help participants gain the confidence they need to make smart financial decisions not only during challenging times like those seen in 2020, but also on a frequent and consistent basis.
“Our singular mission is to provide retirement planning for employers and employees in state and local government, health care, education, and not-for-profit industries as they work toward building secure retirement futures,” said Orlando Cruz, Senior Vice President at ICMA-RC. “Our clients deserve industry-leading tools and technology that will help alleviate the daunting task of making financial-related decisions for themselves and their families. Particularly for clients who are less than 15 years from retirement, we believe offering Managed Accounts, in collaboration with Morningstar Investment Management, enables us to provide them with personalized solutions that take more than just age into consideration, which is the primary determinant with target-date funds.”
For more information on Guided Pathways Advisory Services, visit www.icmarc.org/guidedpathways.
About ICMA-RC
Founded in 1972, ICMA-RC helps those who serve their communities build toward a secure and confident financial future. ICMA-RC is a mission-based, nonstock, nonprofit, financial services company with approximately $70 billion in assets under management and administration (as of March 31, 2021). The company focuses on delivering results-oriented retirement plans, education, investments, and advice for over 1.5 million public participant accounts. For more information, visit www.icmarc.org, download ICMA-RC’s mobile app from the App Store® and Google PlayTM, or follow ICMA-RC on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
The company previously announced that it will change its name to MissionSquare Retirement effective June 2021.
Managed Accounts investment advice and analysis tools are offered to participants by ICMA-RC. Investment advice is the result of methodologies developed, maintained, and overseen by the independent “Financial Expert” (as defined in the Department of Labor’s Advisory Opinion 2001-09A) Morningstar Investment Management LLC, a registered investment adviser and subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar Investment Management is not affiliated with ICMA-RC. The Morningstar name and logo are registered marks of Morningstar, Inc.