Happy Late January! The year’s off to a fast start, and there’s plenty happening in retirement savings. Warm up with a hot drink (Jan. 31 is National Hot Chocolate Day!) and dive into Illinois Secure Choice at five, updates from California, Connecticut, and Maine, a hot take on SECURE 2.0’s Saver’s Match, Hot Sauce, and Pix of the Week. Enjoy!

This week we talk with our friend Geoffrey Sanzenbacher about his new book, The Six Facts that Matter: Understanding Inequality in the United States. Geoff (Dr. Geoff, to you!) is an econ professor and Research Fellow at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. In addition to working with students, Geoff researches the role of cognitive decline in late-life finances, the retirement savings decision, and the transition from defined benefit to defined contribution pensions.

Farewell June, you’re leaving us too soon! You’ve been eventful, though. Everybody’s active – the states, the federal legislature, the Supreme Court, the activists. We think it’s going to be a hot hot summer. Let’s start with a cool moment catching up on retirement security and celebrating some recent successes. Grab something cold and read on:

• David Bell, Sabra Purifoy and Renzo Meza on OregonSaves at Five – my, you’re looking so good!

• State metrics –May figures are in.

• Updates from California, Colorado and /New Mexico, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Delaware.

• Could innovation in housing help with retirement and financial security? Joel Metlen opines.

• Hot Sauce! … what 10 state Auto IRAs mean in the US, NEST insight’s annual conference returns this summer, and much more.

• PIX of the Week! – we’re taking you outdoors in the Pacific Northwest.