Summary
This document is a guide to the Empower Benefits Design Score (EBDS), a proprietary tool developed by plan design actuarial consultants. The EBDS utilizes retirement plan benefits and engagement data to assess the effectiveness of a plan's offerings in achieving cost-efficient participant outcomes. The tool provides a plan benefits design score, benchmarking against peers, and options for consideration through interactive modeling scenarios. The EBDS dashboard is intended for use by plan sponsors, financial advisors, and Empower sales associates to illustrate the potential impact of plan design changes on employer costs and participant income-replacement rates. The methodology of EBDS promotes continuous plan improvement through a cyclical strategy that includes examining the score, reviewing options, modeling those options, and considering adoption. The document also notes that the projections from EBDS are hypothetical and do not guarantee specific results, emphasizing the importance of consulting with legal or tax advisors regarding any plan changes.
