Washington DC – In reaction to the US Department of Labor’s proposed rule making it easier for employees to invest in retirement funds that consider social factors, IEN reached out to Michael Rhim to update their retirement guide. Investment issues such as climate change, diversity and inclusion and racial equality have been a challenge for higher education retirement plans. This new guide will better assist plan sponsors in offering ESG integrated retirement plan options.
Retirement plan options for faculty and employees of colleges and university represent over $1 trillion in assets which are heavily invested in many companies that operate counter to the goals of faculty, students and institutions alike. While higher education endowments have made progress in aligning their investments to higher goals, similar opportunities in their retirement plans are lagging.
“College endowments have taken positive actions on investment issues relating to climate, diversity and inclusion, and racial equity, but higher education retirement plans have been slower to follow the same path,” stated Michael Rhim, a Principal at PRM Consulting and author of the Guide. “We anticipated the Biden administration and DOL would make it easier for employees to invest in these funds and the expanded Guide now also provides faculty, staff and students with information to determine what is in their retirement plan and how to advocate for ESG funds to be included in them.”
The guide can be downloaded here.
Michael Rhim is a principal with PRM Consulting Group and has more than 30 years’ experience in the human resources arena. He serves as the Practice Leader for defined contribution retirement plans.