Manulife Financial has secured an exclusive agreement with behavioural finance expert Dr. Shlomo Benartzi, a professor at University of California, Los Angeles, to provide Manulife Canadian group pension clients with custom newsletters and quarterly advice on retirement savings trends.

A leader in this emerging field, Benartzi and his academic associates conduct research on behaviour of retirement savings plan participants. Study results are already being used to help U.S.-based plan sponsors.

Benartzi serves as co-chairman of the Interdisciplinary Group on Behavioral Decision Making at UCLA. He is a pioneer in studying participant behaviour in retirement savings plans, including development of Save More Tomorrow — a behavioural model designed to help participants increase their savings rates gradually over time.

“I’m pleased to bring this innovative service to our Canadian group pension customers,” said Paul Lorentz, senior vp of Manulife’s group savings and retirements solutions business. “Dr. Benartzi’s research offers plan sponsors a perspective that may help them better understand member behaviour, and then apply that knowledge to the management of their plans.”

Manulife’s group retirement clients will receive custom newsletters featuring Benartzi’s research findings on participant activity. In addition, they can participate in discussions with Benartzi during quarterly webinars.

“We are always looking for opportunities to provide expertise and resources that help our clients manage their retirement savings plans with increasing confidence,” said Lorentz. “Dr. Benartzi’s work is breaking important new ground and we’re very pleased to deliver this to our clients so they can capitalize on findings of Dr. Benartzi and his associates.”