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RETIREMENT SECURITY MATTERS
A forum for retirement innovation information sharing
focused on states, supporters, and service providers.
Vol 85 | October 5, 2023
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Greetings! Lisa, welcome to Retirement Security Matters – where we talk about retirement readiness innovation by states, supporters, and service providers. | |
We love October. Yes, it gives us an excuse to go overboard with house deco and candy. Anddddd, it's also #NationalRetirementSecurityMonth here in the US.
Clearly at RSM this is “our” national holiday. Just saying. This month is dedicated to spreading awareness about the significance of saving for retirement. So, let's rally on the hashtag, grab a pumpkin beer or spice, and get on with it:
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The 4 E’s you say? with Peter Thompson and RetirePath Virginia
- Frrreshhh state metrics … where are we now
- Updates from Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York
- We mashup nesting shore birds and … retirement savings innovation 🐦
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Wisdom from the wild cliffs of Maui
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Hot Sauce! and some cooool stuff, and
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… PIX of the Week!
| Comments or content suggestions? We welcome both. Have something about your program you’d like to share? We are all ears. | |
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RSM wants your support! Be seen.
Click to grab this space for your brand.
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Peter Thompson on RetirePath Virginia and his 4E’s | |
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With a civilian labor force of 4.5 million, Virginia had a lot to think about when they realized a good chunk of those folks didn’t have workplace access to retirement savings. That’s all changing. We talk today with program director Peter Thompson about the present, the future, and what he’s seeing in this new space. Get to know Peter better here.
This is an excerpt. The full piece can be found here.
Peter, it's terrific to be here with you this afternoon talking about Virginia’s very new RetirePath program.
Yes - RetirePath opened less than 3 months ago -- in late June. It is the seventh state Auto IRA program to launch, and the first in the South. Our program is open to both for-profit and nonprofit businesses in Virginia with at least 25 eligible employees who have been in business for at least two years and do not currently offer a qualified retirement plan. Eligible employees must be 18 or older, work a minimum of 30 hours per week, and have Virginia income. We've also included self-employed individuals and gig workers from day one.
The program is brand new. Any good news you can share about what you're seeing so far?
We're pleased with our progress so far. The early registration deadline was September 18, and we've been encouraging eligible employers to enroll within the 90-day period before the first compliance communications begin. We're closely monitoring two key data points: the number of employers actively submitting payroll and the number of employees with KYC (Know Your Customer) failures. Early indications are positive, with nearly half of registered employers actively submitting payroll, exceeding typical launch rates. While we aim for even higher numbers, this is a promising start.
Well done. You've also got a rich set of tools on your site. We imagine you spent extra time diving into what was needed by your employers and employees.
We did and, I'll pause here because I honestly can't say enough about just how robust an infrastructure Virginia529 has. It existed around the Education and Disability Savings programs well before the addition of RetirePath.
(Want to get the full details on these tools, Peter’s take on WHICH agency should house this program, and more? Get the rest of the scoop from Peter here).
Peter, you've shared a lot of great stuff with us. What haven't we talked about today that we should spend a minute on?
I’m excited about the fact that RetirePath is the seventh Auto IRA program to launch and more states are on the way. I want to thank my colleagues from other state programs for their support and shared experiences. This industry is still in its early stages, and we're working to strengthen these programs. We're also expanding access, whether through state-facilitated programs or private market options, all aimed at closing the savings gap. It's an evolving field, and I'm excited to see what the newer states will bring in the coming years.
We are very close in the Auto IRA world to the milestone of a billion dollars saved. It's taken a while to get there. But it's been very steady progress. The collaboration of the states working together has been one very powerful piece of the success so far.
I'm really excited to see this collaboration, along with the work that that's coming out of the Aspen Institute, of course, DCIIA with the CFERS initiative, the work that Georgetown continues to do. It's really encouraging to see the focus. And I think we're getting comfortable with looking under the hood. Real slowly, we’re taking off the blinders. We're asking more serious questions. And I think that helps to further propel the work that we and others are doing. It's a good time.
There's a lot going on in really positive ways. And we’re glad that you're here, helping to make many of those things happen, Peter. Thank you for joining us to share your experience today.
You can learn more about RetirePath Virginia and stay close to their work here. You can connect with Peter by email link and on LinkedIn here.
Get to Know Peter Thompson, MBA, CEBS.
Here's a quick overview, and you can read the full piece here.
Peter, you have that magic combination of public, private, and entrepreneurial experience -- tell us about yourself and what led you to Virginia RetirePath.
Originally from New Orleans, I graduated with a political science degree from Loyola University. After college I served a term in the military and afterwards, I ventured into the private sector in Virginia, primarily focusing on employee benefits and financial services.
I began my career at Prudential, where I supported brokers and consultants in developing group benefit solutions. This path led me to Northwestern Mutual Financial Network as Director of Operations. Later, I explored roles at United Healthcare and New York Life before starting my own firm.
My journey brought me to the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) during the Great Recession. After nine years at VRS, I joined Virginia529 as the program director for RetirePath, driven by its mission and similarities to VRS.
Now, after two years with Virginia529, I'm proud to be part of an organization where the mission is ingrained in every team member. We're dedicated to expanding the agency's mission and building on its 25-year history of trust and success.
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*Fresh!* State Auto IRA Program Metrics | |
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What’s up! Here’s the latest from our reporting Auto IRA states for August 2023, and a quick interpretation for you.
Assets. Saver assets are up 54% year-to-date and 2.4x since December 2021 to $991 million (very close to the $1 billion mark). Average account balances across the programs are over $1,300. Longer term balances are higher.
Funded accounts. The six programs shown here now aggregate to over 752,000 funded accounts. For comparison, funded accounts are up 1.8x since December 2021, up about 2.9x since December 2020 and up about 6.9x since December 2019 – and up in 2023.
Facilitating employers. Over 177,000 employers are now registered to facilitate a state Auto IRA. Of that number, nearly 60,000 have begun forwarding payroll contributions for savers.
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State Facilitated Retirement Programs - Fresh Highlights | |
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Colorado (workforce 3.2 million) – The next meeting of the Colorado Secure Savings Program Board met on September 26, 2023. Key items on the agenda included an update from Executive Director Hunter Railey and team on enrollment, notice schedule, marketing performance, pre-enforcement communications as well as partnership updates. Also on the Agenda, Segal Marco Advisors provided investment updates.
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Maine (workforce 674,000) – The Maine Retirement Savings Board met on September 20, 2023. Key items on the agenda included a summary report from Executive Director Beth Bordowitz, public hearing and 2024 Board meeting scheduler. As for action items, the Board discussed MERIT pricing, and RFP for media and digital marketing.
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New Jersey (workforce 4.4 million) – The New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program Board has selected Vestwell as the program administrator for the Secure Choice Savings Program. “Good partnerships are the key to success in any great initiative, and we are excited to have Vestwell as a partner in bringing this critical retirement savings program to so many New Jerseyans who do not have access to private retirement savings plans," Todd M. Hassler, Executive Director of Secure Choice Savings Program, said. The partnership is Vestwell’s seventh state-facilitated retirement program. Check out Vestwell’s press release here as well as great coverage from the National Associations of Plan Advisors here and Planadviser here.
By the way, make sure you catch a glimpse of their fancy new logo – it's quite the eye-catcher!
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New York (workforce 9.2 million) – the New York State’s Secure Choice Savings Program Board met on September 20, 2023. Key items on the agenda covered results from the RFP for program administration and investment management, with Vestwell chosen as the program administrator. Next include contract negotiations and approvals from the Attorney General and State Comptroller to keep things on track.
The agenda also featured some fantastic presentations. John Scott and Andrew Blevins from the Pew Charitable Trusts delivered an insightful overview of New York's employer demographics and projected participation numbers, shedding light on the potential worker pool. Additionally, Angela Antonelli from Georgetown University's Center for Retirement Initiatives provided an enlightening overview of the progress and performance of state-facilitated retirement savings programs. Both presentations can be found here.
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C O M I N G U P
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Virginia (workforce 4.3 million) – The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 11, 2023.
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Oregon (workforce 2.2 million) – The next meeting of the OregonSaves Board is tentatively scheduled for November 14, 2023.
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Maryland (workforce 3.2 million) – The next meeting of the Maryland$aves Board is scheduled for December 4, 2023.
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Massachusetts (workforce 3.6 million) - The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for December 11, 2023.
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New Jersey (workforce 4.6 million) – The next meeting of the New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program Board is tentatively scheduled for December 15, 2023.
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Best Practices: Stay on the Trail | |
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You may be wondering what nesting shorebirds and retirement savings have in common. Yes, there’s a nest egg. And yes, there’s the care of that egg while it is maturing. And a little more.
Over centuries and longer, nesting shorebirds have refined an approach that works for them. They’ve developed some tried and true techniques for nesting and hatching young while staying alive. In Maui, these include a set of nesting sites along protected sea cliffs that afford shelter with access to the nearby fish they need for survival as they raise their young.
If you find yourself hiking along some of those small volcanic cliffs south of Kihei and along the stunning ocean that weaves through the Maui island complex, you may find a sign like this one: STAY ON TRAIL. It’s designed to keep us humans where we belong so that we can wend our best path through these areas and live harmoniously with our seagoing friends.
There are times when Staying On Trail makes a lot of sense in the retirement world, too. Over the years we’ve developed some best practices that really work. You know what we’re about to say! They include automatic enrollment, and automatic escalation. They include clear communication. They include access to relevant and timely tools and information. They include monitoring plan and program data to see what’s working – and making adjustments where gaps are found.
In our rush to innovation we may sometimes want to plunge off the trail. We love innovation here. This is just a reminder to look before you step, tread carefully, and watch to see what happens. And as we are trialing new pathways, let’s keep doing all the things we know work well.
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Sometimes executing well on the tried and true, in new circumstances, is very effective innovation.
Happy Trails, Innovating Friends!
And a shorebird link
- Lisa
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Don’t miss these curated shorts that’ll spice up your week!
Hey Boomer, how's it going? Our friends at Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research may be finding that it depends on whether you're an early boomer, or a late one.
We recently shared the work of CFERS, focusing on analysis of anonymized participant data to understand differences in outcomes by gender and ethnicity. Now, our friends at EBRI, NAGDCA and PRRL are taking a similar look at data from public funds. Take a look at this piece on balances and gender gaps. Important work. And if you want to consider joining CFERS with data or otherwise, click here.
This is turning into the Hawaii edition. We’ll just say, we like this:
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… because we think it's a great representation of local-relevant advertising. The graphic, the image, the organization name: if you're from the Hawaiian islands, it's clear this message is for you, and was probably drafted by someone who cares about you.
If you work in communication, it matters not where, this is a great example of how to think about your audience.
Do it. On November 6 &7 Stanford’s Center on Longevity (and friends) hosts its fourth Longevity Summit in Palo Alto. Retirement security and long lives are closely linked. Whether you join remotely or in person, this event and its related expertise are a don't-miss.
Watch it. You may have seen this one! It's from 2011. And if you're thinking about Hawaii, you may enjoy popcorning The Ancestors with George Clooney and a very talented cast. It’s a slow-building set piece that will make you think. Our favorite element: it offers one of the best views of ordinary life in this special place. Well, assuming you can afford a high end house in a nice Oahu neighborhood and that your ancestors have entrusted you with 600 acres of pristine wildlands in Kauai.
In our ears. We know that a podcast from Kevin Hart is going to keep us moving, and The Summer of 85 (written by Chris Morrow) does just that. We don’t know much about Philadelphia, and we were thinking about everything but Philly in 1985. Turns out we missed a lot.
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Embark on a journey with Peter Thompson through Virginia's breathtaking landscapes and thrilling outdoor adventures as we explore … | |
Summit atop Old Rag Mountain in the Shenandoah National Park (Madison County, Virginia) | |
Near Arlington, Virginia. Bike ride along W&OD Trail in Northern Virginia benefiting local nonprofit. | Yuengling Shamrock 8k finisher (Virginia Beach, Virginia). | |
And if you find yourself thinking a good way to help Maui would be to sprinkle around a few tourist dollars, you will not be wrong.
In a spot like this you might encounter a local climbing back up the hill after spear fishing. He may tell you about his kids in school and the fact that he expects to move to the 9th island – Las Vegas – after they graduate. “A house here is a million dollars,” he will say.
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He may share with you the day Lahaina caught fire that his daughters were in town, and the ridiculous feeling of trying to confirm they were safe. He may say, it's like Covid all over again here. Since the tragedy business has been hugely curtailed. So, if you have a way to buy something from Maui, do it. North Shore. And as curated for Maui by Honolulu Magazine. | |
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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.
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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.
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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 Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) is dedicated to enhancing the retirement security of America’s workers. To do this, DCIIA fosters a dialogue among the leaders of the defined contribution community who are passionate about improving defined contribution outcomes. DCIIA's site provides a range of public and member-specific resources.
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.
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