Episode Summary Here is another Sponsor Spotlight episode, where we interview an employer who took a different approach or strategy to change participant behaviors and outcomes. In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sarah Redgrave, the Vice President of Total Rewards at KinderCare Education. Sarah shares a unique approach she and her team took to integrate the 401(k) plan communication into their new total rewards strategy. While the campaign had some surprising and positive resul...
Jun 20, 2016•30 min
Episode Description It should be no surprise that 401(k) plan fees have been the hot topic of discussion amongst both plan sponsors and the industry. With fee disclosure regulations, a growing number of lawsuits and the press all swirling around the issue the need for plan fiduciaries to have a process to both understand and evaluate plan fees for reasonableness has never been more important. My guest, Tom Kmak, the CEO and co-founder of the firm Fiduciary Benchmarks which provides independent, ...
Jun 14, 2016•1 hr 3 min
Episode Description As the Greek Philosopher Heraclitus said, the only thing that is constant is change. At no time has that statement likely been more accurate about 401(k) plans than where we are today in the retirement market. My guest George Castineiras is the Managing Director of Gibraltar Ventures. He spends his time speaking to and making investments in companies that are shaping what the next several decades of the retirement industry will look like, as a preview things will likely be ve...
Jun 10, 2016•59 min
Episode Summary Sometimes employers will comment, we don’t hear to much about the 401(k) from our employees, well that’s not because your employees don’t have questions, it’s likely because they are going elsewhere to get their answers! To help uncover what 401(k) participants are doing outside the watchful eyes of their employers, is my guest Catherine Golladay, the Senior Vice President of Participant Services and Administration at Charles Schwab. During our conversation, we explore how 401(k)...
Jun 02, 2016•48 min
Episode Description By leaps and bounds, target date funds, or lifecycle funds are the fastest growing investment in 401(k) plans primarily due to their popularity with plan sponsors as the qualified default investment alternative, or QDIA in their 401(k) plan. As some fiduciaries are starting to realize, evaluating target date funds can be a bit tricky due to the numerous variances in style from one fund to another. For that reason, I invited Rich Weiss, Senior Portfolio Manager at American Cen...
Jun 02, 2016•1 hr 2 min
Episode Description Over the years, participant 401(k) plan loans have gotten a bad rap both with plan sponsors and within the industry. In this episode my guest, Todd Cowman, a Senior Consultant at the Principal Financial Group explores whether that bad reputation is deserved. Todd does a great job of explaining some of the fundamentals of 401(k) plan loans, which are often times misunderstood, and brings a frank overview of the pros and cons of 401(k) plan loans for participants and plan spons...
May 27, 2016•42 min
Episode Summary You might have heard that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, you also might understand a thing or two about Millenials, Generation Xers and Baby Boomers. However, what you might not realize is that having a better grasp on how different generations and genders approach preparing for retirement could actually help you improve your retirement plan health. My guest, Margaret Rux, is a principal and head of Strategic Retirement Consulting at Vanguard. Her team of attorneys, ...
May 19, 2016•45 min
Episode Summary If you are at all curious about how rising interest rates here in the United States could impact your 401(k) investments, employees and the economy, my guest Chris Dillon a fixed income portfolio specialist with T. Rowe Price covers these topics and more! During our conversation Chris does a great job of explaining in an understandable way some fundamental concepts such as what a fixed income yield curve is and how interest rate changes impact bond prices. He also helps make sens...
May 13, 2016•52 min
Episode Summary Well, I have to admit, this episode didn’t unfold quite the way I thought it was going to, however, thanks to my guest, Peter Dunn, aka Pete the Planner, it turned out to be the most inspirational and motivational episode of the 401(k) Fridays podcast yet. Pete the Planner® has a unique set of gifts as both an award-winning comedian and financial mind. He's a USA TODAY columnist and the author of ten books, and the host of the popular radio show The Pete the Planner Show. Pete ha...
May 06, 2016•1 hr 4 min
Episode Summary Today's episode is absolutely packed with information for all plan sponsors regardless of the current “cash” or capital preservation strategy in your 401(k) plan. My guest, Brett Gorman, a SVP at PIMCO Investments and head of their Stable Value business shares valuable information about Money Market Reform and its impact on both plan sponsors and participants. He also lays out a great roadmap to help plan sponsors reevaluate their capital preservation strategy to find the right m...
May 04, 2016•46 min
Episode Summary The new DOL Conflict of Interest Rule, what is also being referred to as the new DOL Fiduciary Rule, has introduced changes that some are calling the most significant since the introduction of ERISA over 40 years ago. While the rule will have a phased effective date beginning in April 2017, there are multiple items employers should begin exploring now. As usual, Sam does a great job of extracting specific elements of the 1100 page rule that employers should be aware of and provid...
Apr 29, 2016•40 min
Episode Summary While you might be familiar with the term behavioral finance, you have not heard my guest Stuart Ritter, from T. Rowe Price explain the origins, research and fundamentals behind why it is so important for employers to understand and embrace as they design their retirement plans. Stuart is a vice president and senior financial planner—designing, building, and implementing guidance and advice services to assist customers in achieving their financial goals. He has appeared on televi...
Apr 15, 2016•1 hr
Episode Summary If you feel like you are spending the “right amount of money” in your retirement plan but not getting the results you expect in either recruiting, retention or employee retirement outcomes, spending more money to get better results doesn’t have to be the answer. According to my guest, Marc Howell without increasing costs, you could improve all three of those metrics by breaking away from a traditional retirement plan design and moving towards plan design customization. Marc is a ...
Apr 13, 2016•54 min
Episode Description If you are with a manufacturing company, this is a can’t miss episode. Be sure to listen for key points specific to manufacturing companies about industry trends that are impacting plan design, plan health and employee retirement readiness. Also, my guest Scott Francolini shares great advice on how manufacturers can help recruit younger workers and help older workers make a successful and timely transition into retirement. I hope you enjoy! Guest Bio Scott Francolini is Senio...
Apr 07, 2016•56 min
Episode Description If you are an employer and are at all curious about what’s happening in Washington D.C. that might impact your 401(k) plan, I am happy to report that my guest Joan McDonagh likely covers it in today’s episode! Our conversation includes: Developments with state run retirement programs The DOL’s proposed Fiduciary Rule Initiatives to help participants generate lifetime income in retirement plans Tax reform and how it could impact retirement plans Potential impact of the upcomin...
Mar 30, 2016•59 min
Episode Summary Conflicts, compensation and reasonableness, what do these three words have in common? Ok, I ‘ll let you off the hook, these are the key issues at the heart of roughly 90% of the recent 401(k) litigation according to my guest, Jason Roberts ERISA Attorney and Founder of the Pension Resource Institute and the Retirement Law Group. Jason has been repeatedly recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers ...
Mar 25, 2016•34 min
Episode Description Let’s say you were running your 401(k) fiduciary committee meetings wrong, wouldn’t you want someone to tell you? Luckily, I was able to track down Jason Roberts, ERISA attorney and founder of the Pension Resource Institute to help set the record. straight. Jason has been repeatedly recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential in Defined Contribution” by the 401(k) Wire and a “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers Magazine. In this episode you will hear tremendous insights on why yo...
Mar 24, 2016•38 min
Episode Description I am excited to share the first episode in our Sponsor Spotlight segment of the podcast! I had the pleasure to sit down with Brad Champagne, Senior Director of Human Resources at Mission Linen Supply in Santa Barbara, CA We’ve worked together for a long time and I’ve always been impressed by his thoughtfulness and ability to focus on the bigger picture. Brad shares candid details about his company, their culture, their 401(k) plan and most importantly the circumstances surrou...
Mar 17, 2016•29 min
Episode Description Should there be a balance between employee and employer goals in a 401(k) retirement plan? This was a different statement and one that I felt employers could benefit from learning more about. This episode provides data and specific strategies on how and why everyone can benefit when their goals are aligned. My guest is Hugh O’Toole, President and founder of the Viability Advisory Group. During our conversation you will hear several unique insights and examples of the interpla...
Mar 16, 2016•41 min
Episode Description If you ever wondered how you can strategically and cost effectively partner with an ERISA Attorney to improve and protect your retirement plan, this episode with Sherrie Boutwell, ERISA Attorney and partner at Boutwell Fay, a boutique ERISA law firm should be very helpful to you. Our discussion covered: Overview of common plan errors in retirement plan documents Points to negotiate in service provider contracts Need to properly delegate fiduciary authority Attorney-client pri...
Mar 08, 2016•58 min
Episode Overview If you are in the Not-for-Profit Healthcare sector and sponsor a retirement plan, I have some great information for you! This is the first in a series of industry profile episodes that I will be making over the next several months. This episodes features a broad and interesting conversation with Brodie Wood, Senior Vice President, Not-for-Profit Markets at Transamerica Retirement Solutions. He shared several great pearls of wisdom for employers who sponsor a 403(b) or 401(k) pla...
Mar 04, 2016•50 min
Introduction The 401(k) Fridays podcast offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts, new best practices and valuable perspectives on current events. Episode Summary The main focus of our conversation is determining if some common employer beliefs about...
Feb 23, 2016•44 min
Introduction The 401(k) Fridays podcast offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts, new best practices and valuable perspectives on current events. Episode Description We have a great episode to share with you today and it is a must listen if you are ...
Feb 13, 2016•56 min
Introduction The 401(k) Fridays podcast offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts, new best practices and valuable perspectives on current events. Guest Bio Jeff Judd is an Investment Analyst for Lockton Retirement Services. He graduated from the Uni...
Feb 06, 2016•33 min
Introduction The 401(k) Fridays podcast offers companies of all sizes free strategic, educational and actionable content to improve their retirement plans. My name is Rick Unser and I am your host. All episodes leverage my nearly two decades of experience working with employers to bring you candid interviews with industry experts, new best practices and valuable perspectives on current events. Guest Bio Donn Hess has almost 25 years of experience in the retirement services industry, the majority...
Feb 03, 2016•56 min
