Who’s Answering the 800 Number? Perhaps a Retirement Education “Specialist”

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

By Beverly DeVeny, IRA Technical Expert
Follow Me on Twitter: @BevIRAEdSlott

Who is answering the phone when you call an 800 number with a question about your employer plan? In many cases it is a “retirement education specialist.” I recently saw an ad for this position. Here is what the retirement education specialist is responsible for:

  • Answering phone calls made to the service center
  • Fulfilling transaction requests such as loans, transfers and distributions
  • Answering plan participant’s questions
  • Answering e-mail and voicemail inquiries

So far, that sounds like what used to be called a customer service representative, not a “specialist.”

This particular job also entailed running retirement projections and “educating” plan participants on “proper” asset allocations.

The requirements for the job included a bachelor’s degree (no specified major) and 2-3 years experience. For me, that elevates the job a little higher than the customer service realm but does that make the individual a specialist (rhetorical question)?

The dictionary’definition of specialist is rather vague – a person who devotes himself or herself to one subject or to one particular branch of a subject or pursuit. Apparently, if I do nothing but watch kitten videos on YouTube for a year, I will be a specialist.

So back to my original question – who is answering the phone when you call an 800 number with a question about your employer plan? Don’t be fooled by a title. Your “retirement education specialist” may have had no education on the topic and may or may not be a specialist at all.

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