401(k) Specialist Podcast

Catching Up with 'Annuity Yoda' Tamiko Toland

Guaranteed in-plan lifetime income solutions is a hot topic in the workplace retirement market these days, and we wanted to hear from one of the foremost experts on these products in “Annuity Yoda” Tamiko Toland.

After stints at TIAA and CANNEX, the thought leader in retirement and annuities in the individual and institutional markets last year started Toland Consulting, LLC, to share her insights, experience, and strategic analysis with clients, and she’ll also tell us about a couple of other new gigs keeping her busy these days—all with a focus on helping to educate people about lifetime income solutions.

The Year Ahead with John Hancock Retirement CEO Wayne Park

As the new year opens, our first podcast of 2024 features a look at what to expect in the workplace retirement market from a high-level leader in John Hancock Retirement CEO Wayne Park.

With oversight over all aspects of John Hancock Retirement’s business, Park is an ideal person to shed insight on topics that will impact the workplace retirement business this year, particularly as they relate to emerging opportunities in the small plan marketplace.

He talks about impacts of SECURE 2.0 and state-mandated IRAs, why advisors should be attracted to the small plan market, and what retirement savers should be focused on in the year ahead.

IBM sent shockwaves through the retirement industry recently when it was revealed that the tech and computing giant is halting its 5% 401(k) match in favor of a 5% contribution to a new, portable, immediate-vesting pension called a “Retirement Benefit Account.”

Joining us to discuss this move and its wider implications within the retirement industry is someone who knows the defined benefit market very well in Brian McDonnell, Head of the Global Pension Practice at Cambridge Associates. There he oversees the firm’s work with more than 150 plan sponsors, and also works directly with clients as their OCIO.

He'll explain why the move happened, whether (and why) other plan sponsors might be considering it, and key trends he sees impacting the defined benefit space in the coming year.

2024 SECURE 2.0 Insights with Principal’s Lance Schoening

As we head toward 2024, more and more provisions of the landmark SECURE 2.0 retirement reform legislation package are coming online, including some provisions that have lots of people in the industry really excited.

One of those people is Lance Schoening, Director of Policy at Principal, the sponsor of today’s podcast. As the person responsible for the company’s analysis of retirement legislation, he’s well-versed in all things SECURE 2.0, and shares insights on a number of new provisions.

He’ll also explain why he’s excited about the start-up tax credits, and why retirement plan advisors might want to take another look at the small plan market because of them.

Talking DOL Retirement Saving Priorities with EBSA Head Lisa Gomez

It’s been about a year since the Honorable Lisa M. Gomez was sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of Labor, and quite a busy year it’s been for the head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, which is responsible for administering, regulating and enforcing provisions of ERISA.

She joins the 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast to talk about topics including the high-profile rewrite of the conflict of interest rule, SECURE 2.0 and its ability to address the workplace retirement plan coverage gap, and what EBSA can do to help plan advisors, plan sponsors and participants make the most of 401(k) plans to save for retirement.

When you want to gain insight about what’s going on in the retirement industry, you want to talk to someone who’s in the loop and immersed in the business. We can’t think of someone who fits that description better than Jania Stout.

401(k) Specialist’s “Top Advisor by Participant Outcomes” in 2020 is now the Senior Vice President, Retirement + Wealth, at OneDigital, where she brings over 22 years of experience in ERISA plan consulting to her role as Practice Leader.

She fills us in on the latest when it comes to helping participants tackle the difficult task of paying down debt while still saving for emergencies and retirement, momentum building for in-plan guaranteed income solutions, and how artificial intelligence can complement—and not compete with—advisors.

Capitol Hill Retirement Reform Update with Invesco’s Jennifer Flitton

With 2024 quickly approaching, it’s a good time to check in on the status of retirement reform efforts and progress in Washington D.C.—particularly as the industry prepares for a variety of SECURE 2.0 provisions scheduled to kick in come January.

To learn where things stand on a variety of key retirement issues, this episode of the 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast is proud to feature a true Capitol Hill insider in Jennifer Flitton, Head of US Government Affairs at Invesco. In her 15 years in Washington, Flitton has developed a deep understanding of how things work behind the scenes and an uncanny knack for knowing when things will pass, not pass or get delayed.

We’ll ask her about the SECURE 2.0 technical fixes, whether there’s any movement on CITs in 403(b)s, who will become the next congressional champions of retirement reform, and finally, whether the federal government is poised to allow alternative investments greater access to defined contribution plans.

Andrew Biggs Explains Why There is Really Is No Retirement Crisis

In an environment where Americans are repeatedly told by mainstream media that they are facing a serious retirement savings crisis because they aren’t saving enough, there’s one person who repeatedly stands up to refute these claims.

Andrew Biggs, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, explains why he thinks most Americans probably are indeed saving enough for retirement, and how what he says are “flawed” calculations exaggerate the shortfall of Social Security’s retirement income replacement rate.

SEE ALSO:

• Biggs: Social Security Exaggerates Shortfall of Retirement Income Replacement Rate

Building Client Relationships with Advisor Derek Fiorenza

Derek Fiorenza, C(K)P, CPFA, AIF, PPC, MSBA, is wired a little differently than the typical retirement plan advisor. He joins us to explain the somewhat unique approach he has to building client and participant relationships.

Fiorenza, who serves as the Vice President, COO and CCO of Summit Group Retirement Planners in the Philadelphia area—a firm he co-founded with his father Anthony Fiorenza in 2013—has earned several accolades as a “top advisor under 40” and the company has been named a top DC advisor team by NAPA multiple times.

He also talks about why he regularly attends the NAPA Fly-In Forum in Washington D.C., addresses the retirement industry’s coverage gap, and tells us about a passion profit in the form of a non-profit he founded to help feed the hungry.