What happens when you stop assuming what employees need and actually ask them? 

Pamela J. Brown, EVP and Head of People & Culture at Crunch Fitness, joins Beyond the Paycheck to share how she's transforming the employee experience across 550+ gym locations in six countries. From implementing a 401(k) with match after an inaugural engagement survey to making Crunch Fitness the only big-box gym offering full benefits to part-time employees — resulting in a 24% retention improvement — Pam reveals the framework behind building benefits programs that deliver measurable ROI. 

She opens up about her earliest money memories, the mentor who shaped how she leads, and why mental fitness training, leadership development, and creative no-cost benefits are just as critical as traditional compensation. Whether you're trying to get buy-in from senior leadership on a new pilot program or looking for hidden value in your existing vendor relationships, this episode is packed with tactical strategies you can start using this week.

Timestamps

[00:49] – Pam's earliest money memory and the Disneyland lesson that changed her perspective

[06:00] – How personal money experiences shape her approach to total rewards

[07:43] – Driving engagement and utilization: closing the loop on employee feedback

[09:30] – Why Crunch Fitness offers full benefits to part-time employees

[12:02] – Leadership development and mental fitness as total rewards

[16:29] – Getting executive buy-in for mental health programs

[18:19] – The hypothesis-test-prove framework for benefits ROI

[23:43] – A 30-day experiment: unlocking hidden vendor benefits

Takeaways

• Close the feedback loop — tell employees what you heard, what you did, and show the results
• Test bold hypotheses with pilot programs, prove ROI with retention data, and pivot fast when something isn't working
• Explore no-cost and low-cost benefits like low-interest loan programs, EAP negotiations, and vendor partnerships
• Treat leadership development and mental fitness training as part of your total rewards package — not separate line items
• Audit your vendor relationships: brokers, 401(k) providers, and EAPs often have hidden benefits you haven't activated
• Incentivize preventative care usage to drive healthier outcomes and reduce insurance cost increases

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelabr/
Company Website: https://www.crunch.com

Summary

What if the biggest obstacle to your employees' financial well-being isn't their salary — it's that they don't understand what they already have? In this episode of Beyond the Paycheck, host Kelsey Willock sits down with Erin Desrosiers, CCP, Compensation and Benefits Leader at HOK, the global architecture and design firm with 1,700+ employees across 27 offices. 

Erin brings over a decade of experience in compensation and benefits to an honest conversation about the affordability crisis facing today's workforce, why employees consistently choose the wrong health plan, and what companies can actually do about it. From the triple tax advantage of HSAs that most workers overlook, to why fertility benefits generate the most gratitude she's ever seen, to the "job hugging" phenomenon keeping people frozen in place — Erin doesn't shy away from the hard truths. She also makes a compelling case for something deceptively simple: just talk to your benefits team. They want to hear from you. Whether you're an HR leader designing your next open enrollment or an employee trying to stretch your paycheck further, this episode delivers practical, actionable guidance you can use starting today.

Timestamps

[00:35] – Erin's earliest money memory: the nickel-and-dime sibling hustle

[03:10] – Why data matters more than personal opinion in comp & benefits

[05:05] – Job hugging, AI anxiety, and why employees aren't moving

[08:24] – Shopping for health insurance like car insurance

[11:08] – The deductible conversation most adults still need

[14:18] – Fertility benefits: the most appreciated offering Erin has ever provided

[16:01] – Remote, hybrid, or in-office: why companies are holding to their values

[18:00] – The 30-day experiment: HSAs, feedback, and advocating for yourself

Takeaways

• Treat health insurance decisions like car insurance — compare premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums rather than defaulting to the most expensive plan
• Leverage HSA triple tax advantages: pre-tax contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for eligible expenses
• Share candid feedback with your benefits team — they hear complaints but rarely learn what employees actually value
• Consider fertility benefits as a high-impact offering that transforms employee loyalty and builds families
• Recognize "job hugging" as a real workforce trend driven by AI uncertainty and distrust in hiring processes
• Educate employees year-round on their benefits, not just during open enrollment season

Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-desrosiers-ccp-50652536/
Company Website: https://www.hok.com

Summary

High-deductible plans were meant to save money—but for many employees, they’ve created “functional uninsured” risk and delayed care that drives bigger costs later. Tom Armani, most recently Director of Global Benefits at Dayforce and a 20+ year benefits leader, unpacks how employers can reverse the affordability crisis while improving outcomes. He explains why self-funded benefits should be run like a small business, the misaligned incentives across carriers, providers, and PBMs, and how value-based advanced primary care can lower total cost of care. Tom shares a practical model he implemented—partnering with a curated marketplace of independent primary care groups with fees at risk and clinical reconciliation. He also tackles the engagement gap: why point solutions go unused, how just‑in‑time personalization (via claims and wearable data) boosts relevance, and how to do it within HIPAA using vendor-led outreach. The episode closes with actionable steps for financial wellbeing—from capturing the employer match to using HSAs/FSAs and advocacy partners—plus a call to build healthcare literacy so employees can actually navigate their plans.

Timestamps

[00:40] – Early money mindset: Depression-era frugality and why affordability matters

[02:15] – First jobs to benefits philosophy: Understanding paycheck-to-paycheck realities

[07:35] – Where benefits break down: Self-funded spend, misaligned incentives, HDHP pitfalls

[10:59] – The true cost of delayed care and ER utilization

[11:30] – Fixing incentives: Value-based advanced primary care and independent networks

[14:45] – The engagement gap: Point solutions, personalization, and AI-driven outreach

[16:15] – Doing personalization right: HIPAA, vendor-led targeting, and data privacy

[19:10] – Healthcare literacy for new workers and navigation challenges

[21:05] – Next best actions: Employer match, HSAs/FSAs, emergency savings, and advocacy

Takeaways

- Run benefits like a P&L—interrogate incentives across insurers, providers, and PBMs.

- Reduce overexposure from HDHPs; restore first-dollar coverage for prevention and primary care to avoid downstream costs.

- Pilot value-based advanced primary care with independent groups and at-risk fees tied to outcomes.

- Close the engagement gap with personalized, just-in-time outreach powered by claims/biometric data—delivered by privacy-compliant vendors.

- Build healthcare literacy and offer advocacy so employees can navigate networks, prior auth, and plan design.

- Coach “next best actions”: capture the employer match, fund HSAs/FSAs with pre-tax dollars, create an emergency savings buffer, and ask for help early.

Sponsor

Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations

Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence.

With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track.

See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/

Summary

How do you help employees make smarter healthcare decisions in a system that’s anything but consumer-friendly? Nick Getz, National Director of Underwriting & Innovation, Employee Benefits at The Baldwin Group, breaks down how employers can communicate value, drive preventive care, and control rising costs—without overwhelming their people. The Baldwin Group is one of the fastest-growing brokerages in the U.S. with 5,000+ employees, and Nick brings a clear, practical lens: benefits are a retention engine, not just an attraction perk. He shares how to tell the full total-compensation story, why messages need 8–9 touches across existing channels, and how to tailor preventive care to each person’s reality—from GLP‑1 users to simple habit stacking. Nick also explains why U.S. healthcare lacks true consumerism, what that means for navigation and price transparency, and which trends—like pass-through PBMs and regulation—will reshape the employee experience in the next two years. Expect actionable guidance on steering employees to high‑value care, simplifying choices, and preparing for a noisy but necessary wave of change.

Timestamps

[00:17] – Nick’s role at The Baldwin Group: underwriting innovation, controlling healthcare and pharmacy spend

[01:23] – Early money lessons: earning, saving, and the value of choice

[02:23] – First jobs and spending that first paycheck—plus the saving lesson that stuck

[04:07] – Benefits as retention: telling the total compensation story and what really drives loyalty

[06:17] – Communication that works: 8–9 touches, multi-channel, and quarterly focus themes

[09:36] – Preventive care redefined: habits, chronic conditions, GLP‑1 use, and meeting people where they are

[15:22] – The biggest breakdown: where to go for care and why healthcare lacks true consumerism

[19:38] – What’s ahead: regulation as a warning sign, drug costs, transparent PBMs, navigation—and a noisy 2027

Takeaways

- Treat benefits as a retention engine—tell the full total compensation story, not just premiums and copays.

- Communicate with repetition and variety—use existing channels, aim for 8–9 touches, and theme messages by quarter.

- Personalize preventive care—meet people where they are, connect mental and physical health, and promote small, stackable habits.

- Steer employees to high‑value care—offer navigation support, explain cost differences, and demystify copays vs. HDHPs.

- Tackle pharmacy spend—evaluate transparent, pass‑through PBMs and support access strategies for high-cost, life-saving meds.

- Prepare for regulatory shifts—expect noise before clarity; prioritize member experience and cost transparency now.

Sponsor

Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations

Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence.

With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track.

See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/

Shiny offer letters don't build trust—clear education and consistent execution do. Nick Oliveri, Senior Director of Total Rewards at Silicon Labs (a 1,800-person global semiconductor company with 18 locations), shares a practical playbook for modern compensation and benefits. Grounded in the belief that every dollar represents someone's effort, Nick explains why the biggest breakdowns happen in education—especially manager enablement—and how simplifying salary bands and benefits can close the gap. He details Silicon Labs' enterprise ChatGPT program with custom GPTs for safe, on-demand benefits questions, the guardrails they use in comp planning (live dashboards, merit/equity matrices), and why he prefers buying tech to avoid upkeep drag. Nick also unpacks benefits that truly change lives—parental leave with flexible return and real-life supports—how he measures impact (pulse surveys, external signals), and lessons from an unexpected backlash over a pet insurance switch. Looking ahead, he argues pay transparency is a trust strategy, not just a compliance exercise, with narrower base ranges and incentives doing more of the performance lifting. Tools mentioned include Pave for dynamic comp planning and total rewards visibility.

Timestamps

[00:45] – Meet Nick Oliveri: career path into Total Rewards and leading comp/benefits at Silicon Labs

[02:07] – First memories of money: why "every dollar equals effort" shapes his pay philosophy

[04:19] – Where comp/benefits break down: education, transparency, and manager enablement

[06:07] – Applying AI: custom GPTs for benefits questions and safer employee learning

[08:03] – Guardrails that work: dashboards, comp planning matrices, automation, fresher data

[09:01] – Build vs. buy: why upkeep tips the scale toward purchasing HR tech

[10:17] – Benefits that change lives: parental leave, flexible returns, and real-world support

[17:16] – The next wave: pay transparency as a trust strategy; narrower ranges, bigger incentives

[19:18] – Tools to watch: Pave for virtual offers, total rewards visibility, and live comp data

Takeaways

• Educate managers to be your primary communicators on pay, ranges, and trade-offs.
• Simplify salary bands and benefits; clarity increases perceived value and trust.
• Deploy AI chatbots for private, 24/7 benefits questions to boost understanding and utilization.
• Build comp guardrails with real-time data: dashboards, merit/equity matrices, and automation.
• Invest in parental leave and flexible returns; pair with practical supports to reduce stress.
• Treat pay transparency as table stakes; narrow base ranges and use incentives to drive performance.
• Expand financial wellness access—advice, budgeting tools, and education on 401(k)/ESPP—especially in uncertain markets.
• Favor buying HR tech to reduce maintenance burden and accelerate outcomes.

Sponsor

Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations

Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence.

With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track.

See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/

If employees don't use their benefits, they don't create value. Tomekia Williams, Manager of Benefits Administration at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, shares how her team moves beyond "check-the-box" offerings to utilization, impact, and true care for a largely frontline workforce. Northside—known as the "baby hospital" for delivering more babies than any hospital in the U.S.—faces the complexity of educating busy caregivers. Tomekia breaks down how targeted, time‑of‑need communications outperform broad blasts, from hosting segmented info sessions on new IRS catch‑up rules to building age‑banded financial wellbeing programs that start with budgeting for early‑career employees. She also details what changed lives during the pandemic—rolling out Headspace and normalizing proactive mental health support—and why the hospital doubles down on EAP access for employees and their households plus coaching via meQuilibrium. Looking ahead, she highlights AI's role in streamlining benefits administration and why measuring relevance and utilization (not volume) should guide every plan decision. Expect practical moves you can apply now, including a 30‑day experiment to target the largest age cohort in your workforce.

TIMESTAMPS
[00:45] – From temp role at Fidelity to a career in benefits education
[01:32] – Inside Northside: serving frontline caregivers at the "baby hospital"
[05:10] – The real gap: time‑of‑need education vs. information overload
[07:43] – Targeted outreach in action: IRS catch‑up changes and live Q&A sessions
[08:45] – Mental health that moves the needle: Headspace and proactive support
[12:16] – Measuring what matters: utilization, relevance, and sunsetting low‑value perks
[13:50] – Financial wellbeing for 2026: pension + DC readiness and age‑banded coaching
[20:12] – Trends to watch: AI for benefits admin and easier access to mental health care

TAKEAWAYS
- Deliver education at moments that matter—map life events and push targeted, timely communications.
- Host segmented info sessions for plan or regulatory changes; pair concise content with live Q&A.
- Manage your portfolio by utilization and outcomes; retire low‑value perks and reinvest in what's used.
- Build retirement readiness early with age‑banded financial wellbeing—teach budgeting and compounding to new grads.
- Promote your EAP year‑round (to employees and households) and add coaching tools like meQ to support clinicians.
- Apply AI to streamline benefits administration—reduce eligibility/enrollment errors and clarify communications.

Sponsor

Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations

Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence.

With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track.

See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/

Summary

How do you modernize total rewards for a 6,500-person frontline healthcare workforce—without losing the human touch? Eric Waggoner, Director of Total Rewards at GoHealth Urgent Care, shares how his team balances compliance, cost, and culture across 17 states and multiple health system joint ventures. With a career that began in sales redesigning commission plans, Eric brings a pragmatic lens to compensation, benefits, and financial well-being. He explains how AI can supplement—not replace—HR teams, from speeding compensation cycles with tools like Better Comp to deflecting benefits FAQs during open enrollment. Eric also details how he educates employees on the full value of total rewards, tailors financial well-being by generation, and measures success beyond claims data. Don’t miss his unexpected, high-impact benefit for frontline staff—3D custom insoles—and his take on pay equity guardrails and the rising pressure of prescription drug costs. The episode closes with a 30-day money experiment any listener can try.

Timestamps

[00:45] – Guest intro: From sales commissions to leading Total Rewards in healthcare

[01:57] – GoHealth at a glance: 17-state JV model and a 6,500-person frontline workforce

[03:05] – Early money lessons and first jobs—and how they shape empathy in pay and benefits

[06:47] – Where comp and benefits break down today: manual work, healthcare costs, and AI as a supplement

[09:02] – Tools in practice: Better Comp for compensation cycles and an AI benefits assistant for open enrollment

[11:09] – Teaching total rewards value: whole-person design, financial well-being, and generational needs

[16:08] – A small benefit with big impact: 3D custom insoles, MSK prevention, and cultural ROI

[20:28] – Pay equity readiness: fast-changing laws, annual audits, and transparent guardrails

[22:05] – The near-term trend to watch: managing rising RX costs

[23:27] – A 30-day experiment to boost your financial well-being: track every dollar

Takeaways

- Treat AI as a force multiplier: use it to automate FAQs and accelerate comp work while upskilling your team.

- Make total rewards visible: share annual total comp statements and explain employer-paid value clearly.

- Design for the whole person: integrate physical, emotional, and financial well-being across the career journey.

- Personalize financial education: meet generational needs with 401(k) basics, Roth options, and investing literacy.

- Pilot targeted frontline benefits: test high-utility perks like 3D custom insoles that reduce MSK strain and lift morale.

- Prepare for pay equity at scale: run annual pay audits with demographic cuts and document processes to meet evolving laws.

- Tackle RX spend proactively: explore plan design, vendor partnerships, and education to blunt near-term cost pressure.

Sponsor

Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations

Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence.

With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track.

See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/

Summary

How do you drive benefits engagement when most of your workforce is union, frontline, and constantly on the move? Robert Fortin, Senior Manager of Benefits Wealth at Amtrak and former pension consultant, shares how his team thinks beyond retirement to help employees build wealth across their careers. From his earliest money lessons (savings bonds from his grandmother) to riding Amtrak routes to hear frontline feedback firsthand, Robert brings a practical, people-first lens to plan design. He explains why automatic programs beat awareness campaigns, what the Pension Protection Act unlocked for savers, and how default choices still shape outcomes years later. Robert also unpacks Amtrak's unique context—balancing federal funding stewardship with attraction and retention, operating under the Railroad Retirement system, and tailoring offerings like lifestyle spending accounts to a diverse, largely union workforce. He closes with what's next: more employee choice—with the caveat that simplicity, vendor partnership, and updated legislation are essential to make it work.

Timestamps

[00:20] – Guest intro: Robert's role leading wealth-building at Amtrak and career journey from pensions to plan sponsor

[01:21] – Inside Amtrak: mission, union-heavy workforce, and a public service footprint across the U.S.

[02:56] – Early money lessons: savings bonds, time value of money, and saving for your future self

[05:59] – First job habits: quarters for trash cans, diligence, and forming financial discipline

[07:13] – The engagement challenge: remove barriers, use automatic programs, and make saving effortless

[08:46] – Policy that changed saving: PPA 2006, auto-enrollment/escalation, default rates, and SECURE 2.0

[11:36] – Reaching frontline employees: safety/benefit fairs, riding the trains, and word-of-mouth influence

[14:19] – Balancing the benefits mix: federal funding, healthcare costs, Railroad Retirement, LSAs, and demographics

[18:09] – The next trend: expanding employee choice—while managing complexity and regulatory constraints

Takeaways

• Automate savings: implement auto-enrollment and auto-escalation with meaningful default rates to boost participation.
• Get out of the office: supplement surveys with listening tours, benefit/safety fairs, and ride-alongs to hear frontline needs.
• Design for frontline realities: communicate in simple, timely ways and leverage peer networks to spread awareness.
• Balance the portfolio: weigh healthcare, retirement, and flexible accounts against budget and mission to drive retention.
• Offer choice with guardrails: simplify through vendor partnerships and advocate for policy updates that enable equitable flexibility.
• Start with your demographics: build benefits around who you have today and the workforce you need in 3–5 years.

Sponsor

Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations

Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence.

With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track.

See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/

Summary

What does it take to transform a billable-rate-driven pay culture into a fair, transparent, and data-backed system? Julie Bell, Global CHRO at Roush, shares how she built a rigorous compensation architecture from the ground up—partnering with Willis Towers Watson, standardizing hundreds of roles, and running annual adverse impact analyses that have cut pay inequities by 50% year over year. With a nontraditional HR path through org effectiveness and M&A integration, Julie brings a transformation-first lens to HR—centralizing offer decisions in Compensation, using regression analysis to win over engineering leaders, and challenging the tendency to overpay unproven new hires while overlooking internal performers. She also breaks down why benefits often go unused, how spouse-inclusive, targeted wellness communications nearly doubled enrollment, and how this strategy helps contain healthcare costs without shifting burden to employees. Julie closes with where AI is heading next in HR—personalized benefits navigation and mental health support—plus her dignity-first approach to difficult workforce actions.

Timestamps

[00:45] – Julie’s nontraditional path to CHRO and an expanded HR scope (EHS, security, internal comms)

[03:20] – Early money memory: layoffs, empathy, and leading with dignity in tough decisions

[05:40] – Humane layoffs: designing a process that preserves respect and support

[09:20] – From “Wild West” to structure: job architecture, WTW partnership, and pay equity audits

[12:00] – Data-led comp: regression analysis, centralized offers, and curbing overpaying new hires

[15:40] – Benefits breakdown: closing the usage gap with spouse-targeted wellness outreach

[18:10] – Affordability and performance: no COLA, merit-based increases, and promotion velocity

[20:40] – What’s next: AI in benefits navigation and mental health; human + AI in practice

Takeaways

- Build a job architecture and market-based comp structure; run annual adverse impact analyses and close gaps systematically.

- Centralize offer decisions with Compensation; benchmark against internal peers to start new hires at equitable levels.

- Replace peanut-butter merit and COLA with performance-based merit and targeted promotions; educate leaders and employees on the why.

- Treat benefits like a product: drive proactive utilization with targeted communications—especially to spouses—and tailor for workforce demographics.

- Use transparent, data-rich reporting (e.g., regression analysis, equity dashboards) to align engineering/ops leaders to the comp model.

- Pilot human + AI solutions for benefits education, navigation, and mental health to increase personalization and access while managing costs.

Sponsor

Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations

Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence.

With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track.

See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/

Building Wealth at Amtrak: Auto-Enrollment, Frontline Engagement, and Benefits by Design

Summary

How do you drive benefits engagement when most of your workforce is union, frontline, and constantly on the move?

Robert Fortin, Senior Manager of Benefits Wealth at Amtrak and former pension consultant, shares how his team thinks beyond retirement to help employees build wealth across their careers.

From his earliest money lessons (savings bonds from his grandmother) to riding Amtrak routes to hear frontline feedback firsthand, Robert brings a practical, people-first lens to plan design. He explains why automatic programs beat awareness campaigns, what the Pension Protection Act unlocked for savers, and how default choices still shape outcomes years later.

Robert also unpacks Amtrak’s unique context—balancing federal funding stewardship with attraction and retention, operating under the Railroad Retirement system, and tailoring offerings like lifestyle spending accounts to a diverse, largely union workforce.

He closes with what’s next: more employee choice—with the caveat that simplicity, vendor partnership, and updated legislation are essential to make it work.

Timestamps

[00:20] – Guest intro: Robert’s role leading wealth-building at Amtrak and career journey from pensions to plan sponsor

[01:21] – Inside Amtrak: mission, union-heavy workforce, and a public service footprint across the U.S.

[02:56] – Early money lessons: savings bonds, time value of money, and saving for your future self

[05:59] – First job habits: quarters for trash cans, diligence, and forming financial discipline

[07:13] – The engagement challenge: remove barriers, use automatic programs, and make saving effortless

[08:46] – Policy that changed saving: PPA 2006, auto-enrollment/escalation, default rates, and SECURE 2.0

[11:36] – Reaching frontline employees: safety/benefit fairs, riding the trains, and word-of-mouth influence

[14:19] – Balancing the benefits mix: federal funding, healthcare costs, Railroad Retirement, LSAs, and demographics

[18:09] – The next trend: expanding employee choice—while managing complexity and regulatory constraints

Takeaways

- Automate savings: implement auto-enrollment and auto-escalation with meaningful default rates to boost participation.

- Get out of the office: supplement surveys with listening tours, benefit/safety fairs, and ride-alongs to hear frontline needs.

- Design for frontline realities: communicate in simple, timely ways and leverage peer networks to spread awareness.

- Balance the portfolio: weigh healthcare, retirement, and flexible accounts against budget and mission to drive retention.

- Offer choice with guardrails: simplify through vendor partnerships and advocate for policy updates that enable equitable flexibility.

- Start with your demographics: build benefits around who you have today and the workforce you need in 3–5 years.

Sponsor

Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations

Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence.

With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track.

See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/