What if helping your employees achieve true retirement security came down to communication, clarity, and the courage to simplify? In this episode of The Gap, Shannon Edwards sits down with Marjorie Mann, Senior Counsel at NextEra Energy and current President of the American Retirement Association, for a candid conversation about what’s really working—and what still needs fixing—in America’s private retirement system. With decades of hands-on experience guiding one of the nation’s largest employers through complex plan design, compliance, and fiduciary oversight, Marjorie brings a unique, sponsor-side perspective that every advisor, benefits manager, and business owner can learn from.

If you’ve ever wondered how leading employers are navigating SECURE 2.0, boosting participation, and keeping employees engaged in their financial future, this episode will give you a front-row view. You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of how policy meets practice—and what steps you can take to help your organization close the retirement savings gap once and for all. Because when employers lead with clarity and purpose, everyone wins.

In this episode, Shannon and Marjorie Mann discuss: 

• Evolving responsibilities of employers in strengthening retirement readiness
• Communication challenges in engaging diverse employee populations
• Legislative and regulatory changes shaping plan design and administration
• Collaboration across the retirement industry to drive education and innovation

Key Takeaways:

• Implementing automatic enrollment and simplified investment options, such as target-date funds, can significantly increase participation and improve long-term retirement outcomes for employees.
• Clear, consistent, and targeted communication across different employee demographics helps build trust, increase plan engagement, and prevent confusion about benefits.
• Reducing legislative and regulatory complexity is essential to encourage more small and midsize employers to adopt and maintain retirement plans.
• Collaboration between plan sponsors, advisors, and industry associations fosters shared learning, stronger advocacy, and better tools to close both the coverage and savings gaps. 

"Communication is what’s really important; if you become a trusted voice with employees, that goes a long way toward helping them recognize the opportunities that they have." — Marjorie Mann

Connect with Marjorie Mann:  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marjorie-mann-26803b1/

Connect with Shannon: 

• Website: https://www.tristarpension.com/
• Email: [email protected]
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonedwardsplanconsultant/

This podcast contains comments and opinions that are Marjorie Mann’s own viewpoint and do not represent the positions or policies of NextEra Energy.