Can you feel it? A slight change in the air. A crispness that you don’t remember being there last week. It’s true! Autumn is coming in two days and we’re ending the month with plenty-o-updates. So grab a milkshake (we take ours malted) and settle in:

• Research docket and wealth gap surprises with Morningstar’s Aron Szapiro

• State Auto IRA metrics – 36,000 new funded accounts in one month

• A closer look at … Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York

• Can friction benefit retirement savers? Yes! Behavioral scientist Lindsay Juarez explains

• Hot Sauce! Fresh research and some brain expanders

• And, Pix of the week

Defaults and Anchors are powerful because they operate on three behavioral principles. They make choices easy. They provide an implicit endorsement. And they endow users with a status quo that they have to actively choose to change. How can you use defaults and anchors to give your users a big nudge toward better outcomes? With Perry Wright of Duke University.

It is the dog days of August. Just for you, at the end of this edition, we’re going on a road trip together. And for now, snag yourself something icy and a comfortable chair, possibly in front of a fan. It’s time to catch up on the world of retirement savings innovation:

• Is retirement savings the ultimate ledger for personal financial wellness? This and four more hot topics from Aspen’s Ida Rademacher and Karen Andres

• We are BLOWING UP the state metrics this edition, check it out

• Updates from California, Colorado, Connecticut, and New Jersey

• Anchors Away! Duke’s Perry Wright on these, and defaults

• Hot Sauce! Cool stuff just for you

• Whew! Pix of the week, possibly from your state …