This newspiece is generously supported by Newton Investment Management
RETIREMENT SECURITY MATTERS
A forum for retirement innovation information sharing focused on
states, supporters, and service providers.
Vol 51 | March 24, 2022
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5 Rooms, 5 Themes: Retirement Security and other Hot Topics in the Spotlight
This piece is going to be more like a meal than a snack. So, we’re serializing it. These are the things you need to know from five rooms we’ve been in this month. OK one was a chat room, it’s true!

These five hot topics are culled from conferences and calls thoughtfully curated and hosted by the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, DCIIA’s Innovation Forum Team, Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives’ State Retirement Savings Program Network, NAST’s Legislative Conference Team, and even the Conference of the Western Region Chartered Financial Analyst Societies.

So, we’re going to spill it. The question is, what are you going to do with it?

Topic One: DEI - it matters - everywhere and in every way. Let’s dive in:
 
  • In the workplace
  • Challenges
  • How is becoming more clear
  • Two more ideas we love
  • Back to the basics – the workplace
 
We heard some very practical things - including ones you can use.
While we are thinking about equity, we need to make sure these workers are getting equal access to retirement savings at work - where the paycheck is happening. Let’s make sure we’re not adding to the challenge by forcing them to go out and do something the workers in the first office never have to think about doing: finding and funding retirement savings on their own, after the paycheck has already hit the bank account.
 
There are lots of ways of doing this. One of our favorites is State Auto IRAs. But it’s not the only way, by a long shot. So, get out there and do your thing! Make something happen today!
 
We think you are amazing. Thank you for joining us on Part one of this spring journey. Part two is coming right up: We’re not the youngest people in the room anymore - What now? Stay tuned.

- Lisa
*Fresh!* State Auto IRA Program Metrics
What we see: February figures are rolling in, and we’ve reached a new milestone. 

Wassup! It’s official – Illinois’ Secure Choice Savings Program now has over 100,000 participants. Across the three state-wide Auto IRA programs, funded accounts are up 5% this year so far, to just a whisker shy of 450,000. They’re up 1.7x in the last year and about 4.1x for the last 25 months (aka December 2019).

While March is historically a middle-of-the-road month for the U.S. stock market, and with the S&P 500 posting average gains in March of 0.5% going back to 1928, aggregate program assets are holding at $417 million. Assets are up 2.6x their year-ago value, and more than 7 times their two-years-ago levels.

CalSavers -- during the month the program saw a double digit increase in both the median and average monthly contribution amount and the number of employers registered grew by 12%. Across the three programs, almost 54,000 employers are now registered to facilitate and over 19,400 have begun facilitating payroll deductions for covered workers.

Not shown in this chart: current average savings rates for Oregon, Illinois, and California are as follows: 6.3%, 5.6%, and 5.1%. (Oregon’s program has experienced the largest number of auto-escalation events to date). Post-transition, OregonSaves is starting to show funded account growth again. 
State Facilitated Retirement Programs - Fresh Highlights
I M P L E M E N T I N G
Colorado (workforce 3.2 million) – The Colorado Secure Savings Program Board met March 22, 2022. The agenda included an update on the program, introduction of new team members (Go, Team Colorado!), a discussion on outreach and marketing strategy, investment policy statement, updates on the New Mexico Work & $ave partnership, and a review of draft rules. Director Hunter Railey discussed the establishment of processes for employers (i.e., exemption, enrollment, withholding, incentive grants); employees (i.e., opt-out, default option, account customization, withdrawal from account), non-payroll contributions, enforcement of compliance, and program administrator.
 
Employer enrollment opens January 1, 2023. Treasury staff, in partnership with Colorado Department of Labor & Employment (CDLE) and the program administrator, will begin making attempts to bring employees into compliance starting February 2023 with bi-monthly reminders and notice of non-compliance sent beginning October 2023.
 
On the partnership front, the Memorandum of Cooperation with New Mexico expires on March 31, with the intent that it be replaced by a more permanent shared working agreement. 
Connecticut (workforce 1.6 million) – The Connecticut Retirement Security Authority met March 18, 2022. The agenda included an update on the program as it relates to data agreements, program launch and timeline from program administrator Vestwell. Asset exposure to Russia is top of mind everywhere; advisor Lockwood provided an update.
 
And in case you missed it, Nasdaq recently reposted program administrator Vestwell’s article about the MyCTSavings, covering everything you need to know about the program, including how it works, who can use it, and answers to questions you didn’t know you had.
Illinois (workforce 6.2 million) - Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced the Secure Choice Savings Program has reached a milestone by helping over 100,000 workers save more than $85 million for their retirement. *Well done Illinois!* For local coverage about the news conference see The Center Square – Illinois.
Massachusetts (workforce 1.6 million) – The Massachusetts CORE Plan Statutory Committee met on March 22, 2022. As a refresher, this program is a multiple employer plan targeted specifically to non-profits with 20 employees or fewer. The agenda included a Q4 2021 investment review from Aon Investments, and a broader program update from Empower Retirement that included social media marketing and outreach strategy development. As of December 31, 2021, the plan’s assets are over $14.5 million, contributions in 2021 topped $1.4 million, there are over 950 participants and 130 plans adopting. Under consideration: a campaign to re-enroll employees who are still employed, but opted out during initial plan adoption. Massachusetts has also considered legislation to broaden the reach of this program, but that legislation is not active this session.
New Jersey (workforce 4.4 million) – The New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program Board met for the second time this year on March, 11 2022. The Board is presently working on program implementation, including the retention and procurement of key experts. *Executive Director Opportunity* and, check out the program’s new website. ❤️

JD Supra reports again on the program’s statutory March 2022 enrollment deadline as well as The National Law Review, see post here. 
New Mexico (workforce 1 million) – The New Mexico Work & $ave Board released their first annual report. This document provides the historical background and purpose leading to the enactment of the New Mexico Work and Save Act, as well as great highlights of the work of the board from its initial organizational meeting in October 2020 through December 2021.
A C T I V E
Delaware (workforce 490,000) – Delaware’s retirement savings bill has been voted out of Committee with amendments introduced. As you may remember, on May 2021 Representative Larry Lambert introduced a measure that would establish the Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Savings (EARNS) program, a voluntary state-facilitated retirement savings program. Amongst the proposed changes: limit eligibility to categories of employees whose participation would not cause an increase in administrative or management fees, establishment of a grant program to support small businesses to implement the program, as well as additional board’s authority and responsibilities. 
Hawaii (workforce 647,000) – Don’t miss a great article by Hawaii AARP State Director Keali`i Lopez about this session’s proposed retirement savings program legislation and ideas that can help mitigate Hawaii’s savings shortfalls. Hawaii’s retirement savings bill passed second reading as amended and referenced to the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, where it was heard on March 22, 2022.
Pennsylvania (workforce 6.2 million) –Pennsylvania’s retirement savings bill is still waiting to be heard by the House Commerce Committee. House Bill 2156 would create a state-facilitated Auto IRA program for employees of private sector employers with five or more employees that do not themselves offer a retirement plan. The bill would also create the Keystone Saves Program Advisory Board to run the program. Status: referred to House Commerce Committee.
G L O B A L
Jamaica (workforce 1.2 million) – We had a great chat with pensions attorney and retirement savings advocate Sanya Goffe in June of last year. The Pension Industry Association of Jamaica wants to address the very low coverage and savings rate in the country – using some tried and true concepts. They’ll need to be applied in a way that is uniquely pertinent to Jamaica, but take a look at this new piece, Increasing Pension Coverage in Jamaica Through the Introduction of a Statutory Auto-Enrolment Scheme.
COMING UP



 
  • Maryland (workforce 3.1 million) – The next meeting of the Maryland$aves Board is scheduled for May 9, 2022.
 
 
  • Oregon (workforce 2.1 million) – The next meeting of the OregonSaves Board is scheduled for May 17, 2022. 


  • California (workforce 19.0 million) –The next meeting of the CalSavers Board is scheduled for May 24, 2022.

Wide Open Futures - and How.
I’ve spent most of my working career crafting purpose-built financial services platforms. One of the key attributes for the success of these efforts has been flexibility. I’ve followed guidelines of this type for these large-scale endeavors:

  • Don’t enter the planning effort with a preconceived solution

  • Listen to what your customers are trying to solve, and then consider the how

  • Don’t assume that the solution you initially launch will be the final solution

  • Understand that you will need to adapt to future challenges

These tenets were vitally important when I led product development for Ascensus’s Astro platform supporting the launch of OregonSaves in 2017. 

Now I recognize that most of you reading this newsletter are not platform architects. So why am I taking you all down this technical rabbit hole? It’s because many of you – regardless of your official titles -- are program architects, and the same key attribute of flexibility should apply to the retirement programs that you are currently administering, planning, or advising.

So please humor me for a moment by going back to the bulleted list of guidelines and re-reading them from a program standpoint. Go ahead. I’ll wait here for you.

(PS when you’ve got that, click this little button for more great stuff):
I’d like to think that given a chance to “do good” with a large retirement nest egg, that many Boomers would rise to the occasion and share the wealth with others.

Stay creative! / Scott
Guest Columnist Scott Morrison is the founder of 4k Consulting LLC, based in Massachusetts. Scott has spent the bulk of his career creating innovative recordkeeping platforms for savings programs, including 401(k), 529, and state facilitated retirement. In April 2022, he'll head into the Eastern woods to hike the 2,000+ mile Appalachian Trail. Connect with Scott on LinkedIn or follow his epic journey through rocks, roots, and mud on his thru-hiker blog at The Trek.  
Hot Sauce! Cool Stuff.
It’s a hot research season and you’re going to enjoy this treasure trove:

Morningstar Center for Retirement & Policy Studies’ Lia Mitchell and Aron Szapiro have just published a fresh Retirement Plan Landscape Report – highlights include trends data related to coverage, assets, and plan counts, and well as costs to workers and retirees.

Headlines:
  • At first glance, the U.S. retirement system appears to be stable, but that obscures the fragility of a system that loses thousands of plans and billions of assets every year;
  • Plan participants pay different amounts to invest in DC plans depending on where they work;
  • Plans of all sizes offer similar investment strategies, but the largest plans have shifted away from mutual funds as their vehicle of choice;
  • DB pension plans may be disappearing, but they play an important role in millions of Americans’ retirements, and people will collect these benefits for decades.

PS – welcome to Morningstar, Jack Vanderhei!

The Aspen Institute’s Tim Shaw and Delaney Crampton are focused on emergency savings, including Joint Principles for Effective Emergency Savings Policy. As you read the piece, be on the lookout for supporting data related to these ideas:

  • Allow for automatic enrollment in workplace emergency savings
  • Ensure emergency savings are their own “bucket” of savings
  • Allow for a wide range of options, particularly for low-to-moderate-income (LMI) households (think: different types of accounts and value stores)
  • Design emergency savings to meet household needs
  • Safeguard retirement savings

And finally, even the Congressional Research Service is getting into the action with its updated State-Administered IRA Programs: Overview and Considerations for Congress. We like their terminology – SAAI (State-Administered Auto IRA). Which do you prefer – SAAI, SFRP, SSRP, SRSP – and how do you refer to these state programs? Drop us a line! We need a standard here. And thank you, eagle-eyed friend John Mitchem, for bringing this update to our attention.

In other news, a few of our peeps -- Oregon, Illinois and California -- were featured in a recent InvestmentNews piece about how the future of the 401(k) lies with small businesses, as state-run auto-IRA programs are helping close the access gap and creating a landscape for the private market to innovate. Well done, colleagues!

Whew! Take us away for a moment, Calgon ...

In Our Ears: How to Listen to and Understand Great Music by Robert Greenberg. Could this be stuffy? It could be but it is not. Once you get past the first chapter you’re on a rollicking voyage through musical history, styles, and some pretty interesting comparisons between pieces written centuries apart. Greenberg’s description of the Roman period: “46 BCE, Julius Caesar becomes dictator. 44 BCE, Julius Caesar becomes pincushion.” He’s pretty funny. And naturally, all of this fits into and creates musical context, the better to understand your symphony, my dear.

You might also be wondering How a Luthier from Uzbekistan Makes Some of Portland’s Most Beloved Guitars. We did. This is a wonderful piece. Click and feel your heart start smiling. Well done, Peter Tsiorba, and author Gabriel Granillo for calling out Tsiorba’s work.

And finally, we discovered that 85% of the world's population is younger than we are. Now we have goals. We want to get to 100%.
PIX of the week! We're taking you to DC, Baby.
Can we start by saying how lovely it was to see everyone? ❤️ Just lovely! Photo credit for this one, Hunter Railey. In the pic left to right: Courtney Eccles, Kim Olson, Lisa Massena, Leah Marvin-Riley, Katie Selenski, and Hunter Railey.
This gathering was at the Watergate Hotel, which is extra-fun for a history nerd. 
Yep, that’s pretty much where it all went down. And then there was some music to face.

This was more of an action shot than we intended – loving that green and black, on the move – it was wonderful to be in the room as Angela Antonelli and the Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives honored Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Comptroller Kevin Lembo, and Katie Selenski for their vision, their leadership, and their contributions to retirement savings innovation. We know them for these things, and much much more.
It’s very possible that we fan-girled the Honorable Phyllis Borzi. And thank you, Ms. Kennedy Townsend, for your shout-out to Retirement Security Matters at NAST. Unexpected and delightful. We appreciate you!
That’s it for this edition. ❤ Hug your people and change the world.
If you like this piece, please stick with us. We’ll be back in about two weeks. If you don’t like it, please unsubscribe below. Comments for us? Please let us know. Want your own subscription? Request one here. All information shared is from public sources or used with express permission.
Massena Associates provides process, policy, and implementation consulting on retirement savings programs and products.

Our clientele includes public entities, policy organizations, and private sector providers. Our specialty – efficient, targeted results. We are an active speaker on retirement security topics, including state-facilitated programs, MEPs and more.

If you’d like to explore working together, we welcome the conversation. Connect with us here, and at 339-236-0684.
RESOURCES you can use:
Looking for a great retirement savings innovation resource? Led by Dr. Alicia Munnell, the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College develops and hosts terrific content and proprietary research related to states, financial security, social security, and more.

The Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives, Exec Angela Antonelli, provides excellent information on state-based and other retirement security innovation and policy.

Pew’s Retirement Savings Project studies the challenges and opportunities for increasing retirement savings and is another great resource - check out the work of John Scott and his terrific team.

If you want a great source of broad-based, consumer-focused retirement news, Jeffrey H. Snyder’s The Morning Pulse is your ticket. You can subscribe here.