WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ICMA-RC begins a year-long RealizeRetirement® Time Machine tour to communities around the country to promote and encourage retirement savings to public sector employees. The new Tour features augmented reality incorporated into a new retirement themed escape game. Using best practices in experiential marketing and gamification, the 36 foot long fully immersive vehicle provides an engaging and innovative way to deliver financial education while highlighting ICMA-RC’s comprehensive and dynamic participant technology resources. As one might assume from its title, the new program involves a look into the future and how the effects of inflation can be countered by the power of compounding, which was a topic identified as being challenging for new investors to understand.
The new Tour builds on the success of ICMA-RC’s earlier Tours. Based on a random sample of previous tour participation activity, the recently concluded RealizeRetirement® Adventure drove a 22%1 increase in contributions to 457 savings plans for tour participants. Survey results also showed that 65%2 of those that participated in the tour were more likely to increase their contribution, review their asset allocation or set up a meeting with an ICMA-RC representative to learn more about their retirement savings options.
"The RealizeRetirement® Tour series has proven to be extremely successful in engaging participants to plan for their retirement,” said ICMA-RC President and CEO, Bob Schultze. “We are gratified with the overwhelming demand from plan sponsors’ requesting Tour stops for their employees. We believe that the strategic combination of creativity, public sector insight, and workplace accessibility offered by the Tour program are key elements to its success."
The RealizeRetirement® Time Machine presents a new escape room scenario in which participants hear the story of Department of Transportation worker, William (Will) Savemore. While working on a way to get local transportation to run ahead of schedule, Will accidentally discovered the secret of time travel and needs help to fix a “rip” in time. Participants working in teams will have 8 minutes to solve puzzles that will allow them to “visit the future” and learn about the power of compounding along the way.
"Allowing public sector employees to look at their future in an interesting and entertaining way through immersive and interactive storytelling has proven to be very successful in increasing participant engagement,” said Alex Hannah, ICMA-RC Managing Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer. “The RealizeRetirement Tour series includes basic educational components to further engage participants in thinking about and planning for their retirement."
The Tour will also feature a digital Time Machine Trivia game for fun and prizes, a Tech Table where participants can learn more about ICMA-RC’s dynamic and extensive technology based services, and as with each Tour, an information booth where ICMA-RC representatives are on hand to answer questions, set up one on one meetings or even assist with on-site enrollment or making increases in savings.
Learn more and get a closer look at the RealizeRetirement® Time Machine Tour through the following link: RealizeRetirement Time Machine Video.
About ICMA-RC
Founded in 1972, ICMA-RC is a non-profit, independent financial services corporation with approximately $51 billion in assets under management and administration (as of December 31, 2018), focused on providing retirement plans and related services for over a million public sector participant accounts. ICMA-RC’s mission is to help public sector employees build retirement security. The organization’s mission is delivered through its RealizeRetirement® approach in which ICMA-RC representatives actively engage participants in their retirement programs, help them build their asset base, and help them realize their retirement goals through a comprehensive retirement planning strategy. For more information, visit www.icmarc.org or follow ICMA-RC on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
1 Tour survey results September 2017 – July 2018
2 Based on a sample of Tour participation activity between October 2017 – June 2018