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In this conversation, we chat with Aaron Schumm, the Founder and CEO of Vestwell, an entirely new kind of digital retirement platform transforming the way plans are offered and administered — for the benefit of advisors, employers, and employees alike. Prior to founding Vestwell, Aaron was a co-founder of FolioDynamix, a wealth management and advisory services company that powered $800 billion in assets for over 100,000 advisors. At FolioDynamix, which was sold to Envestnet in 2017, Aaron oversaw the strategy, revenue, marketing, customers and product. Aaron holds a B.S. degree in finance from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. degree from Duke University, The Fuqua School of Business. He was named as one of 40-under-40 by InvestmentNews and WealthManagement.com's “10 to Watch” More specifically, we touch on all things 401ks, IRAs, Portfolio Balancing, Roboadvice in portfolio management, and so so much more!
Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read, the "de facto Chief Financial Officer" of the state, has served in both the state and federal governments. He worked for Larry Summers and Sheryl Sandberg during the Clinton Administration before returning to the Pacific Northwest (he graduated from Willamette University and then earned an MBA from the University of Washington). He served in the State House before being elected Treasurer. In this episode, Treasurer Read discusses his policy accomplishments at Treasury (like the national-leading OregonSaves initiative) and his views on the evolution of Democratic Party/where he fits in. He also discusses his op-ed in The Oregonian, which criticized the State Legislature and Governor for the lack of strategic reopening plan for Oregon's economy post-pandemic, saying: "We need to stop reacting and start leading." Treasurer Read is often cited as a potential candidate for Governor in 2022 -- we ask him about that, too.
On this show, we talked about how to get more people direct access to retirement accounts, the current landscape, and what the future holds with Lisa Massena, CFA, Principal of Massena Associates and Founding Executive Director of OregonSaves. Listen to learn how states are addressing the problem of a lack of employer retirement plans! For the Difference Making Tip, scan ahead to 18:35! You can learn more about Lisa at MassenaAssociates.com, Twitter and LinkedIn. We’re honored to have been named one of the top podcasts from investing! We’re on YouTube, check us out! George is honored to be included on Investopedia's list of the Top 100 Financial Advisors for 2019! Have George speak to your organization. You can learn more about the show at GeorgeGrombacher.com, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook or contact George at Contact@GeorgeGrombacher.com.
A major challenge for let's call it 40% of the workforce here in the United States is access to a retirement plan at work. Recently, several states have launched retirement plans to help provide more access to workers and close the coverage gap. To discuss this and more, I am happy to welcome back to the podcast, Lisa Massena, Principal at Massena & Associates. During our conversation Lisa shares her experience and insights helping launch the state retirement plan in Oregon and now actively partnering with other states and institutions looking to improve retirement security for millions of workers. Coming up on the podcast, we have episodes which hit on the new Pooled Employer Plans or PEPs, the impact of COVID on workplace retirement plans, a conversation with Vanguard about their decision to partner with Infosys, thoughts on retirement policy in the upcoming election and more! If you are not subscribed to the podcast, take care of that today by searching 401(k) Fridays on your favorite podcast app or going to www.401kfridays.com/subscribe. That’s it, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Lisa! Guest Bio Lisa A. Massena, CFA, is a retirement leader partnering with governments and service providers to develop savings programs focused on increasing private sector retirement coverage. In 2020 Lisa founded Massena Associates to help clients successfully navigate new spaces, achieving on-budget implementation, state of the art operations, and happy users. Services to support these outcomes include strategic advice on market position and opportunities; financial analysis; program design and development; implementation planning and support; issue expertise and testimony; marketplace updates and education; and communication. Prior to establishing Massena Associates, Lisa served on the Government Savings team at Ascensus, the nation’s largest independent recordkeeper, and as the founding Executive Director of the OregonSaves program. She has also held executive positions at State Street and mPower. Lisa is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a graduate of Portland State University. 401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over 200 prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read and Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs each share program updates, insights, and lessons learned for their state-facilitated retirement savings programs -OregonSaves and Illinois Secure Choice- as these pioneering states lead the way to expand access and strengthen retirement security for millions of Americans.
The bills that can save Hawaii. The bills (SB1374 and HB1189) in the Hawaii Legislature are modeled after OregonSaves, the nation’s first state-facilitated retirement savings program. OregonSaves is seeing remarkable success in getting people who haven’t saved before to save their own money for retirement. More than 70 percent of those eligible for the program have enrolled. In 20 months, there are more than 60,000 participants and the amount saved is approaching $14 million. The average savings is $100 a month, about 5.6% of their paychecks. The host for this episode is Jay Fidell. The guests for this episode are Sarah Mysiewicz Gill and Jessica Wooley.
Today we take a little detour from talking about the usual 401(k) or workplace retirement plan topics and focus on the challenge for many people around the country who are gainfully employed but don’t have access to a retirement plan at work. Personally, when I first heard some of the stats we discuss today they were surprising to me. I have two guests which both shared great perspective today, Lisa Massena, the Executive Director of OregonSaves the first state retirement plan to go live and Andrew Biggs, a resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who has a wealth of data and research about retirement savings at his finger tips. As hopefully you have heard in prior episodes when I have two guests on that usually means they are not always going to agree on everything. Our conversation starts with a conversation around the data, what options individuals who don’t have access to a retirement plan at work have today and how the conversation will evolve in the future. With Lisa here, we also spend some time talking about how state retirement plans factor into the coverage conversation. She shares Oregon’s experience, early results and reactions after their launch in late 2017. Good stuff and I hope you take as much away from our conversation as I did. Last thing, we had a little challenge with Andrew’s connection, you can hear everything he says but it is a little scratch, just a heads up. Technology is a great thing until it isn’t! Guest Bios Lisa Massena, Executive Director, OregonSaves - Ms. Massena joined OregonSaves as its first Executive Director in September of 2015. With its Board and a strong team of internal and external collaborators, Massena helped design and launch the innovative retirement savings program that, when fully implemented, is expected to be available to over 1 million Oregonians who currently do not have access to retirement savings at work. A native of the Northwest, Ms. Massena began her career in Oregon focused on investment and retirement solutions for employers and individuals, co-founding an investment consultancy in 1991 that specialized in defined contribution plans. When the internet beckoned, she joined a startup firm in San Francisco providing online portfolio advice for 401(k) savers. In 2001 Massena was recruited to State Street Corp. where from San Francisco and Boston she led regional, Americas and global teams providing investment analytics services to institutional clients. She earned a B.A. from Portland State University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Andrew G. Biggs is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and public sector pay and benefits. Before joining AEI, Biggs was the principal deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), where he oversaw SSA’s policy research efforts. In 2005, as an associate director of the White House National Economic Council, he worked on Social Security reform. In 2001, he joined the staff of the President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Biggs has been interviewed on radio and television as an expert on retirement issues and on public vs. private sector compensation. He has published widely in academic publications as well as in daily newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He has also testified before Congress on numerous occasions. In 2013, the Society of Actuaries appointed Biggs co-vice chair of a blue ribbon panel tasked with analyzing the causes of underfunding in public pension plans and how governments can securely fund plans in the future. In 2014, Institutional Investor Magazine named him one of the 40 most influential people in the retirement world. In 2016, he was appointed by President Obama to be a member of the financial control board overseeing reforms to Puerto Rico’s budget and the restructuring of the island’s debts. Biggs holds a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, master’s degrees from Cambridge University and the University of London, and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. 401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over one hundred prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
It has been estimated that more than half of Americans are saving too little to support an adequate lifestyle if they plan to retire at age 65. It was economist and recent Nobel prize winner Richard Thaler who suggested a fix: Make payroll retirement savings plans available to everyone and then by add design features […] The post How Oregon’s auto-enrollment IRA program, OregonSaves, helps state residents save for retirement: An interview with Lisa Massena, Executive Director, OregonSaves – Episode #168 appeared first on Gov Innovator podcast.
You may have heard of OregonSaves by now, the state-sponsored retirement savings program, facilitated by employers. If you don't currently offer a retirement plan to employees, listen up! The program is rolling out in phases over the next few years and Joel Metlen, Public Engagement Manager for OregonSaves, guides us through employer responsibilities, schedules, and resources available to help you easily implement the program— and help your employees see their savings grow. Guest: Joel Metlen, Public Engagement Manager, OregonSaves, Oregon State TreasuryGuest host: Sarah Schenck, Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Websites mentioned:oregonsaves.comORLA Member Benefit:10% off Snagajob's full suite of hiring software and solutions
Oregon is trying to start a retirement planning revolution- every single business in Oregon will be required to offer a retirement plan of some sort by 2020. Joel Metlan joins us to discuss “Oregon Saves” and the behavioral economics built into the plan. And why it might be coming to your state soon, too! Check it out at Oregonsaves.com (Apologies for the inconsistent episodes the past two weeks; we had some scheduling challenges but we’re back on track!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When I ask employers if they have the information they need on the soon to launch state run retirement plans, I get reactions that range from "What state plans?" to "Great, sounds like another scheme to fix the mess with their pension plans!" These and other responses I have gotten haven’t given me a lot of confidence that information, much less accurate information, is filtering down to employers about these programs. With Oregon launching OregonSaves on July 1st, 2017 and many others likely to follow, I thought it might be a good time to revisit the topic! I was excited to have Katie Selenski, the first Executive Director of California Secure Choice, the new state sponsored retirement plan for private sector workers in California join me on the 401(k) Fridays Podcast! During our conversation, we start with the basics of why California and other states are launching retirement plans, then move onto some recent developments on the federal level and how states plan to digest them and give Katie an opportunity to address some of the questions, misperceptions and concerns surrounding the California plan. If you have employees in California, you should definitely check this out. If you don’t, well, there are over thirty other states that are in the process of launching retirement plans so much of what we talk about will likely apply! Guest Bio In April 2017, Katie Selenski was appointed by California State Treasurer John Chiang to serve as the first Executive Director of the pioneering California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board, which governs the Secure Choice Program. The program will provide a path to retirement security for the seven million Californians who currently lack access to a retirement savings account via their employer, by allowing workers a simple, low cost way to save their own money and participate in professionally managed investments. Prior to taking the helm at Secure Choice, Ms. Selenski was the State Policy Director for public pension policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., where she managed Pew’s efforts to help fiscally distressed states and cities undertake data-driven pension system improvements. Previously, she was a senior manager with the nonpartisan public sector consulting firm Harvey M. Rose Associates, based in San Francisco, where she advised policymakers on a wide array of budget, management, and policy matters, including pensions. Previously, she worked as a municipal bond rating analyst, a legislative fellow in the California Assembly, and the director of an historic statewide nonpartisan youth voter turnout initiative. Ms. Selenski has previously served on the boards of multiple nonprofit organizations. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over seventy prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!
Whether you are aware of it or not, several individual states are getting ready to launch state sponsored retirement plans. Their intent is to help workers who are not eligible for or not offered a retirement plan through their employer. What you also might not know is that in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon, the Beaver State, is likely going to be the first state with a live program with a scheduled launch on July 1st, 2017. For most employers, the reactions and questions have been pretty consistent, why are the states going down this path, how will the programs work, if we already offer a retirement plan what does this mean to us? Well, it wouldn’t be like me to leave you guessing on what all this means so I was excited to have Joel Metlen, the Public Engagement Manager from the Oregon State Treasury Department and the OregonSaves retirement plan join me to address these questions and much more. Even if you don’t have an office or employees in Oregon, much of what we talk about is broadly applicable to what’s going on in other states around the country. As you might imagine, not everyone thinks these programs are a great idea, so I do take time to address some of the bigger concerns and objections we have heard from other employers, the retirement industry and now the federal government. There are a lot of opinions, information and misperceptions circulating right now about state run plans. My hope is that after you listen to our conversation you will be more informed, understand how this may or may not impact your company and will have the framework to process future developments rationally. Guest Bio Joel Metlen, Public Engagement Manager, manages outreach and stakeholder engagement for Oregon State Treasury’s OregonSaves program. He has 13 years of public service experience. He worked in New York City as the Deputy Director of the Revenue Division of the NYC Parks Department, and he was the Business Operations Manager for foodservice at DC Public Schools. Prior to joining Treasury, Joel was the Communications and Legislative Manager for the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace. He has a B.F.A. from New York University and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins University. 401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview Struggling with a fiduciary issue, looking for strategies to improve employee retirement outcomes or curious about the impact of current events on your retirement plan? We've had conversations with retirement industry leaders to address these and other relevant topics! You can easily explore over fifty prior on-demand audio interviews here. Don't forget to subscribe as we release a new episode each Friday!