In this Connect Conversation, NAGDCA Executive Director Matt Petersen speaks with Jason Levy, Deputy General Counsel and Head of Retirement Policy at Great Gray Trust Company, LLC, about collective investment trusts (CITs) and their growing role in defined contribution plans. Jason explains how CITs compare with mutual funds, why they can offer lower costs, how regulatory structures differ, and what plan sponsors should consider when evaluating CITs for their investment lineups.

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NAGDCA Executive Director Matt Petersen sits down with Greg Long of Alight Solutions to discuss auto portability, a solution designed to help retirement savings follow participants as they change jobs and reduce leakage from small balance accounts.

New research from NAGDCA and EBRI’s Public Retirement Research Lab (PRRL) takes a closer look at how men and women save for retirement in public sector defined contribution plans.

Despite controlling for age, salary, and tenure, meaningful differences remain—from contribution rates to investment choices. In this conversation, Matt Petersen is joined by Samita Thephasit and Craig Copeland to unpack the findings, explore what’s driving these trends, and discuss what plan sponsors can do to better support participant outcomes.

In this Connect Conversation, Matt Petersen talks with Jeri Savage of MFS Investment Management about findings from the 2026 MFS DC Plan Sponsor Survey.

Why are plan sponsors increasingly confident in retirement outcomes—while many participants, especially Gen X and Boomers, aren’t? Explore generational trends, competing financial priorities, and what drives higher confidence grades in the Workplace Retirement Readiness Indicator.

Listen now for key insights for public sector DC plans.

In this NAGDCA Connect Conversation, Matt Petersen speaks with leaders from Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) about how intentional plan design and effective communication can drive strong retirement outcomes.

Winta Berhane, Manager of Benefits at BART, and Marcus Wu, Partner at Pillsbury and outside counsel to BART’s defined contribution plans, discuss how BART strategically uses its 457(b) and 401(a) plans to support employee savings-resulting in a 92% participation rate without auto-enrollment. The conversation explores lesser-known plan features, key compliance considerations, and practical approaches to educating a diverse workforce through strong partnerships and consistent outreach.

What does a “healthy” retirement plan actually look like in the public sector? In this episode of NAGDCA Conversations, Executive Director Matt Petersen talks with Nick Amaral, VP of Data, Analytics & Insights at Fidelity, about how plan sponsors can look beyond traditional benchmarks to evaluate performance, improve participant outcomes, and tailor their strategies to the unique structure of public plans.

Nick shares how Fidelity’s Retirement Plan Health Score, financial wellness tools, and participant engagement analytics are helping plan sponsors redefine success in more holistic and meaningful ways.

Inflation may have cooled for now, but uncertainty remains—and public sector plan sponsors are left wondering how to prepare. In this episode, NAGDCA’s Matt Petersen sits down with Kevin Kneafsey, Senior Investment Strategist, to discuss how inflation impacts DC plans and what sponsors can do to build more resilient investment menus.

Learn why inflation is so hard to predict, why traditional “inflation-hedging” assets often fall short, and how portfolio design—not participant timing—is the key to long-term protection.

What role can private markets play in defined contribution plans—and how are new investment structures making them more accessible? In this episode of NAGDCA Conversations, Matt Petersen talks with Steve Ulian, Managing Director at Apollo, about how recent innovations are helping public sector DC plans tap into the potential of private equity, real assets, and private credit.

Steve explains why now is the right time to consider these investments, how they’ve become “DC-ready,” and what fiduciaries should know about liquidity, structure, and risk management.

In this episode of NAGDCA Conversations, Executive Director Matt Petersen sits down with Malia Bonham and Seth Miller from the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems to discuss how the state successfully expanded automatic enrollment from state employees to local governments.

Malia and Seth offer a behind-the-scenes look at the legislative strategy, stakeholder engagement, and lessons learned. Whether you're exploring auto enrollment for the first time or looking to refine your existing approach, this episode provides practical insights and inspiration for state and local plan sponsors alike.

Join NAGDCA Executive Director Matt Petersen and Josh Cohen from PGIM as they discuss how public sector DC plan sponsors can adapt to rising market volatility and uncertainty.

In this episode:
- What volatility means for different participant groups
- The role of fixed income and inflation-sensitive assets
- Why personalization matters in times of uncertainty
- Rethinking menus to support aging workforces