Happy Late January, friends! Is it just us or is the year already speeding by? There's a lot going on in the world of retirement savings innovations. Warm yourself up with a steaming cup of something (did you know Jan. 31 marks National Hot Chocolate Day?) and read on:

• Treasurer Michael Frerichs on Illinois Secure Choice at Five – Wow!

• Key updates from California, Connecticut, and Maine

• Our first Correction (certainly not our first mistake though)

• A hot take on SECURE 2.0 - key features of the Saver’s Match

• Hot Sauce and Cool Stuff – Always an audience favorite!

• Swearings-in and more in Pix of the week

This week we have the pleasure of chatting with Michael Frerichs, Illinois State Treasurer. Frerichs was an active proponent of the Illinois savings program before it passed the State Legislature in 2014. As Treasurer he’s had a chance to see it through from its earliest days to expanding coverage to reach nearly 2 million workers.

This is Part 2 in a series covering key elements of SECURE 2.0, as memorialized into law as part of the 2023 Appropriations Act (Division T) on December 29, 2022. We were still crying over our canceled flights, but it gave us plenty of time to read the Act.

In Division T alone we counted more than 40 new retirement-related provisions. We focused first on Automatic Enrollment, because it’s so impactful and we love it. This week we’ll hit the key features of the Saver’s Match – what qualifies, who gets the money, when, and where.