Will U Retire?

According to PSCA's 68th Annual Survey, 64.3% of plans now use auto-enrollment, and it works: participation jumps. But enrolling someone and engaging them are two very different jobs.

Doug Gardner runs the retirement plan at Seneca Foods, a food processing and packaging company with a largely seasonal, blue-collar, lower-paid workforce. One day he checked how many participants had no beneficiary on file and found 2,100. By going to the plants with paper forms, he cut that to about 900.

In episode two of Will U Retire?, PSCA Executive Director Will Hansen sits down with Brandon Diersch, Director of International Financial Benefits at Microsoft and immediate past president of PSCA.

After 18 years on Microsoft's finance side managing corporate cash, Brandon pivoted into benefits four years ago, and now oversees financial well-being programs for a workforce that has shifted from mostly software developers to include electricians, HVAC techs, and pipefitters. 

He and Will get into what actually drives engagement, the pilot that flopped because the content was too generic, and what a year in DC taught him about where policy really gets made.

In the inaugural episode of Will You Retire? PSCA Executive Director Will Hansen is joined by Michelle McGovern, PSCA President and Chief Human Resources Officer at the American College of Surgeons.

With 35+ years of HR experience, Michelle oversees a deep retirement lineup — 403(b)s, 457(b)s, and a pension plan.

She and Will have a fascinating discussion about auto-escalation, the Roth education gap, SECURE 2.0, and why plan loans deserve a second look.

Plus, the question the show is named for: Michelle turns it right back on Will.