Certainly! I'm an employee benefits lawyer with the New York office of K&L Gates. I've been doing employee benefits work, I have to say it, for the last 40 years. Recently I've taken a keen interest in savings and participant behavior.

You recently wrote about lifetime income and the new SECURE Act lifetime income disclosures.

Just about every economist and financial expert says that nearly everyone when they go to retire should crack their nest egg by buying an annuity. I used the A word, sorry. But nobody does it. Even when I've had clients whose plans offer an annuity within their 401(k)s, no one takes the annuity. People are not willing to fork over a big chunk of money in exchange for seemingly small lifetime payments. They're just wired not to do it.

Yes -- this part of the new SECURE Act is trying to move the needle a bit to get people to think about their pile of money in terms of what they could get for lifetime income. Under this new disclosure rule taking effect in 2021, every defined contribution plan participant is going to get at least an annual statement showing how much money they could expect in lifetime payments, if they took their current 401(k) balance and converted it into an annuity. How will this will work – and what does David’s mom think about annuities … Get the rest of this story here.

Total assets are now 2-1/2x where we started the year – at over $138 million saved.

Not going to lie, it’s exciting to see these accounts grow. More than 10,000 employers have now submitted payroll, with another 17,000 in the pipeline.

New Mexico (workforce 950,000) - The New Mexico Work and Save Board met on November 19 for a deep review of retirement security metrics nationally and in NM, and the characteristics and experience of existing Marketplace, MEP and Auto IRA programs. In related discussion the Board reviewed deadlines – including the legislated target of making a Retirement Marketplace available by July of 2021 and an Auto IRA program available in 2022 – and some members talked about their preference for an employer requirement. The Board meets again on December 16 at 10 a.m. MST. The meeting will be held via Zoom. To register, click here.

Wisconsin (workforce 2.6 million) – Wisconsin’s Retirement Security Task Force met on November 20 as part of its steady research, engagement and progression toward a report to the legislature. Three committees presented their recommendations, which include the establishment of a Secure Choice retirement savings program for the state’s 928,000 uncovered workers. Additional recommendations include establishment of a child IRA program (401Kids), and retirement-linked emergency savings. If you get a kick out of these things like we do, you can watch the meeting here. Treasurer Godlewski, chair of the Task Force, is interviewed in Forbes focused on small business, COVID, and retirement security in the state. The TF’s goal is to complete its report in December for publication in January. The Task Force is scheduled to meet again on December 15.

The CalSavers Board is scheduled to meet December 7. This agenda includes amendments to update the investment policy statement, an interagency agreement with California Franchise Tax Board for enforcement services, and a closed session discussion of litigation matters. CalSavers just published its November 30 program metrics, available here. #Welldone CalSavers team!

The next meeting of the Colorado Secure Savings Program Board is currently scheduled for December 10.

How are you doing with your 3P’s -- is COVID trampling your patience, perseverance and perspective? Take a deep breath - we’re going to talk about why these three rank right up there among the best “best practices” for anyone working to develop a state-facilitated retirement savings program.

Eh, patience? The experiences of established programs illustrate that advancing from the proposal stage to program implementation takes time. The statutes that authorized OregonSaves and Illinois Secure Choice were signed into law in 2015. It wasn’t until 2017 and 2018 that both programs began to register employers and collect contributions. 

In California, the first legislative proposal was introduced in 2008. After a study bill was passed in 2012, it was 2016 by the time the study was completed and the board gained statutory authority to implement … Get the rest of Grant’s great thinking! - read on.

Massena Associates provides process, policy, strategy and implementation consulting on retirement savings programs and products. Our clientele includes states, governments, 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.

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, managed by 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.