The word, trust, carries an extra load in the pension services industry. For retirement planning, especially, the client is literally entrusting its (his/her/their) future to the professionals who design, implement and/or administer the plan.

At PSI, we take this responsibility very seriously. One reason why our clients have repeatedly shown their faith and fidelity to PSI is because we’ve earned their trust– and will continue to do so– every day of the year, year in and year out.

Trust is all very well, but in our business it needs to stand on a foundation of knowledge, skill and experience. (Obviously, not everyone is qualified to offer advice on retirement planning.)

Fortunately, there is science behind the actuarial tables, and computer programs behind the financial projections. Our ERISA attorneys, para-legal and actuarial staff, and CPAs give us a solid grounding in the intricacies of peering into an often murky future. The ability to use these tools– and in our case, to create new software tools to meet very specific needs– is the foundation on which our clients’ trust rests.

In retirement planning, there are multiple levels of service. At its most basic is the relationship between client and consultant. You trust that we will learn your business and treat it as though it were our own. You trust that we keep your best interests always at the top of the agenda.

Then there is the integrity of the data, which is another trust-laden area. From input to computation, confirmation, monitoring, compliance . . . your data need to be handled carefully and precisely at each junction.

Along the way, you will encounter other challenges, such as communicating with participants. Very few workers whose company does not have a qualified retirement plan actually save for their future. In firms with a retirement plan, 70% of workers making $30,000-50,000 participate in a qualified plan. Without trust between employee and employer, or between employer and retirement planners such as PSI, this great American savings phenomenon would evaporate.

Younger employees have many demands on their wallets besides saving for retirement. Convincing them that contributing to a 401(k) is critical now; educating them about how they can make money in bear markets as well as bull markets; helping senior workers manage their withdrawals and tax liabilities . . . all comes down to trust.

The client’s responsibility is to its employees as well as management, and the trust issue runs in a deep vein from retirement planners such as PSI to client companies’ management, to workers and, ultimately, their families. In this monumental enterprise– Americans’ financial security– it all begins and ends with trust.

At PSI, we pledge to be with you through good years and bad. You can bank on it.