Happy New Year 2024, Friends! It’s with much anticipation that we have rounded the corner into this next set of months.

We joke that producing RSM is like writing the newsletter version of War and Peace every two weeks. That said, we are shifting into a new gear. Think of it as beach-bike gear. Hop on – here we go. ♥️

We are making our way out of Hannukah, into those critical ten days before Christmas Eve, and blasting toward the New Year. If you’re working, you are probably working very hard and in need of a good break. Grab a cocoa-coffee and let’s catch up on the latest from the world of retirement security. We’re going to start with some innovation:

• Guideline’s Jeff Rosenberger and Jeremy Caballero: Starter K, plus a lot

• Fressssh! state metrics 🥁

• States in action: Delaware, Maine, and Virginia

• What’s 2024 got in store for us? Future-think with RSM.

• Hot Sauce - just a dash this week, and

• PIXXXXX!

As autumn gracefully transitions to winter, join us in savoring the spirit of the season. With December on the horizon, marked by twinkling lights and festive joy, let's pause, grab a cuppa, and get ready for some cool insights and inspiring news. So, get comfy, settle in, and read on:

• Colorado Secure Savings: Off & Running with Young and Railey

• Fresssssh state metrics - just for you

• Updates from states - CA CO CT IL ME MD OR VA NJ NY and DE!

• In the News: (How) Do Auto IRAs Affect Participation & New Plans?

• We got Hot Sauce / Cool Stuff, and

• … Pix of the Week, where we keep the running theme alive.

Happy November! It’s raining here and the snow has started to fly in elevations above us. So, get ready for some cool insights and inspiring news. Grab your warm beverage, get comfy, and let's dive in:

• Doing More in Delaware - We need to know!

• State Auto IRA Metrics - September Data Update

• Key updates from Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, and Nevada

• Hot Sauce, Cool Stuff: this week's must reads

• Pix of the week

As nature gears up for its final spectacle before winter in the Northern Hemisphere, we've got some exciting news. Grab your blanket, a steaming cup of cocoa, and get ready to dive into the world of retirement security matters this October.

• Retirement Savings Report Card: When “C” Isn't Cool

• State Auto IRA Metrics - September Data Update

• Key updates from Vermont

• Hot Sauce, Cool Stuff: this week's must reads

• Pix of the week

We love October. Yes, it gives us an excuse to go overboard with house deco and candy. Anddddd, it's also #NationalRetirementSecurityMonth here in the US. Clearly at RSM this is “our” national holiday. Just saying. This month is dedicated to spreading awareness about the significance of saving for retirement. So, let's rally on the hashtag, grab a pumpkin beer or pumpkin spice, and get on with it:

• The 4 E’s you say? with Peter Thompson and RetirePath Virginia

• Frrreshhh state metrics … where are we now

• Updates from Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York

• We mashup nesting shore birds and … retirement savings innovation 🐦

• Wisdom from the wild cliffs of Maui

• Hot Sauce! and some cooool stuff, and

• … PIX of the Week!

As September's final week comes into view, it's hard to believe how swiftly time has flown. You need a break! So, grab a beverage, settle in, and get ready to savor some content that will send you into October enriched and inspired.

• Driving better results in retirement outcomes with stronger teams

• Frrreshhh state metrics

• Updates from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, and Maryland

• What’s the link between financial experience and financial competence

• Hot Sauce! and some cooool stuff

• … PIX of the Week! We go west

Can you believe it? As we say farewell to August, September has blasted in. This week, RSM is dropping the summer s-t-r-e-t-c-h and resuming its bi-weekly schedule. Stop thinking about baseball, or your kids, grab a refreshing beverage, and get ready to ease into fall with some content to make you smarter, better, and faster. We said it.

• Fall Season - Getting Ready for 2024! And tips for the rest of 2023

• Frrreshhh state metrics vs. the much anticipated $1 billion in assets milestone

• Updates from California, Colorado + Maine, Illinois and Massachusetts

• Best Practices: We go blue.

• Hot Sauce! and some cooool stuff

• … PIC of the Week! Just one.

Are you in a heat dome? We are! It’s time for a break. Find yourself a comfortable spot in front of a fan or the AC, or that special spot in the office that’s always cold, and join us as we dive into the latest in retirement security.

• Three things you can do now to make 2024 *awesome*

• Frrreshhh state metrics

• Updates from California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Oregon and Maine

• No fries with that please - Best Practices to reduce angst

• Hot Sauce! and some cooool stuff for the dog days of August 🐕

• … PIX of the Week!

We love summer! As the days grow more casual, we hope you're finding time to soak up the sun (or avoid it, if you’re in a heat dome) and enjoy this vibrant season. So, grab a lemonade or your iced coffee, sit back, and let us catch you up on the latest financially resilient retirement security news.

In this edition we’ll explore the latest developments in retirement savings innovations, including state retirement plan mandates. Discover how these programs complement, rather than compete with the private sector market. So, grab something cold and read on:

• Things heard in rooms - wrapping up the spring conference season

• State metrics - OregonSaves crosses $200 million asset milestone 🥂

• Updates from Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, and Virginia

• How do firms respond to state retirement plan mandates? Insights from new research

• Hot Sauce! Some Cool Stuff for you.

• And … PIX of the Week!

Diving deep into June, we have some exciting updates, important news, and a touch of futuristic flair to share. Buckle up and get ready for a cool journey through the latest in retirement security and what it means to be innovative. You’re going to want an iced coffee for this one. Just sayin’.

• The future of retirement savings, blockchain, and tokenization with CeFiWire Founding Editor, Sean Hanna - you read it here first, folks - unless you read it with Sean first

• May data on state metrics, now including Maryland$aves

• Updates from Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nevada

• Best Practices - Highlights from NAST TMTS Day 1 - June 13 - boy is this fresh

• Hot Sauce! Five cool things you won’t want to miss and three other ones

• PIX of the Week! We’re taking you to Dutch Bros, the Golden Gate, and an unnamed hotel room - what?

Hurrah June - you bring something for everyone! We've just celebrated our Memorials, and now we are headed toward Juneteenth on our way through Pride month. Yes, we like inclusivity. So, grab your iced coffee and let's catch you up on retirement savings coverage, innovation, and inclusion:

• Making retirement savings an inclusive instrument of wealth creation

• State metrics

• Updates from California, Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, and Nevada

• Pat GPT on how generative AI can be used to solve today’s challenging retirement, saving access, and inclusion puzzles

• Hot Sauce! …

• And celebrating family in our PIX of the Week!

It's the end of May, and Auto IRA initiatives are racing the calendar as the 2023 legislative session ends. Grab a cool beverage and get your news on:

• Advancing retirement savings: Minnesota, Missouri, and Vermont Get Busy

• State metrics - over 50,000 employers facilitating, and more

• Key updates from Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Oregon – and a host of legislatively active states

• Eyes on the Big Picture: Top Trends

• Hot Sauce and Cool Stuff

• … and Pix of the week!

It’s May, we’re enjoying lighter, longer days. We hope you’re enjoying fresh starts and new adventures. With an iced coffee in hand, let’s catch you up on what is going on in the world of retirement security. You won’t want to miss:

• Insights from Pewster Kim Olson on state Auto IRAS and fact-based advocacy.

• Frrresshhhh state metrics

• Key updates from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Viginia – and a host of legislatively active states

• Hot Sauce and Cool Stuff - from NAST to “Bert” Hoover

• … and Pix of the week! including the White House, and … brownies

Friends – It's our favorite time of year - April is Retirement Security Month! Grab your coffee and join us to sharpen your insights and information. Here's a sampling of what's going on locally, and in a few other parts of the world:

• Jasper Forum's John Mitchem and Jorik Van Zanden: cultural differences impact retirement thinking in the Eurozone, Australia, and the US

• Frrresshhhh state metrics - closing in on $750 million

• Key updates from California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota and North Carolina ... and we're saving some goodies for the next edition

• Are Millennials getting a Watered Down Deal ?

• Hot Sauce and Cool Stuff

• … and Pix of the week!

Friends – Spring is finally here with all the hope and promise of renewal that this season always brings. Is all about warmer temperatures, spring cleaning, skinny cocktails, flowers, Easter eggs and new beginnings.

While we both think about that, here’s what’s on deck in the world of retirement savings innovation:

• The inimitable Mark Iwry parses SECURE 2.0 - and takes a future focus

• Numbers from the states

• Key updates from Maine, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico

• Hot Sauce and Cool Stuff

• … and Pix of the week!

Happy International Women’s Day this week to all the extraordinary women who have dedicated their time to retirement security. You are kicking it! Take a moment to recognize someone near you this week.

• We’re at DCIIA’s spring event series – the Innovation Forum, Retirement Research Summit, and Diversity Equity and Inclusion Awards. Special focus on the DEI Awards.

• Fresssh numbers from the states

• Key updates from California, Delaware, Connecticut, Kansas, and Missouri

• David John and one more nugget on Universal Auto IRA impact

• Hot Sauce and Cool Stuff

• … and Pix of the week! a great recc for those coffee lovers around Portland

Hello Friends! It is Black History Month in the US ♥️. To us, this month is incredibly important. Every year we find the dialogue about our shared history is getting richer. Are there plenty of concerns? Yes, there are. Opportunities to act? Yes, there are. And in the current focus our personal understanding of the ongoing contributions to all that we are together increases, and the world – at least the one close to us – gets better and becomes fuller. #thankyou

♥️ It’s the season of love and affection, which means … pampering. We hope you have a lovely, fun-filled celebration. As you spread some joy, let us help you catch up on the world of retirement security. Grab some sweet and savory chocolates and nestle in. You’ve earned it!

• Mateo Galindo Lozano of CHCF on Planificación de Jubilación - in community

• Key updates from Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Oregon

• A hot take on SECURE 2.0 - This week we’ll hit the key features of Employer Incentives

• Hot Sauce and Cool Stuff - we've got the goods to sharpen your day

• ... and Pix of the week!

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

Welcome to the New Year, friends! We didn't make a lot of resolutions but we are absolutely committed to bring you the best retirement savings innovation information. So, snag yourself a cozy beverage and settle in for a few minutes of catching up:

• Asso Yankson of EY: Good can get better. Don’t miss.

• Key updates from California, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Jersey

• A hot take on how Secure 2.0's automatic enrollment impact

• Interesting new reads! Hot Sauce and Cool Stuff

• And Pix of the week, to close us out

While you’re busy with the hustle and bustle with friends, family, and your community all preparing to celebrate the big holidays, don’t forget to pause and nourish yourself a bit along the way. Curl up for a moment in those footie socks with some wassail and catch yourself up:

• Martha Deevy on optimizing 100-year lives and the importance of financial resiliency

• Key updates from California, Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, New York State, and Virginia

• DCIIA, The Aspen Institute, and Morningstar – joint venture in expanding equitable retirement

• What’s one piece of hopeful news you heard this week? – check out Hot Sauce and Cool Stuff

• Pix of the week to boost your day

Hurrah December ❄️. We’re energized by the holiday season with its brightest lights, lush decorations and good food and company. In the spirit of savoring the season and enjoying the moment, grab yourself a cuppa and settle in for a great read:

• Sid Pailla – Double-clicking on Emergency Savings – what we’re learning

• Fresssh! State Auto IRA metrics

• Key updates from California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and New Mexico

• *Announcement* and Introductions – to DCIIA

• The latest and best news you need: Hot Sauce and Cool Stuff

• Pix of the week – Goodies for our super-scrollers!

To us here in the US, Happy Almost 🦃Thanksgiving! … and a thank you note from us to you. Let us give you a little break between email and making your friends-and-family plans to catch up on the world of retirement security. It’s cold here – grab your pumpkin spice and nestle in:

• Leaning into Latinx – we can do better – what we learned in the great PR

• We have fresh State Auto IRA metrics

• Key updates from California, Delaware, Maine, New Mexico, and Oregon

• Joel Metlen invites you to think about social determinants of health and well being

• We keep your brain spicy with Hot Sauce, Cool Stuff

• PIX of the week! – some sunshine and a soliloquy from a 500-year-old town

Happy November! If that sounds like the year is moving to a close quickly, we agree. Small solace: embrace the “yum!”. You might have a favorite food-related holiday this month. We're going with #10, National Vanilla Cupcake Day. But we digress. Grab that cupcake and catch up on the latest in retirement innovation:

• Natalie Braswell and Jessica Muirhead on MyCTSavings – access, equity, and early results

• *Fresh* State Auto IRA metrics

• Key updates from Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, New York State, Virginia and a Global update with cross-border application

• *New* savings training programs broadly available with NAST’s Kari Arfstrom

• Intriguing shorts in Hot Sauce, Cool Stuff -- Don't save yet?

• This week's PIX! - from the Chesapeake Bay to a living room in Oregon

As nature gets ready for its last hurrah before winter sets in here in the Northern Hemisphere, we have a bit of news to share. So, pull up a cushion and a blanket, grab a hot cocoa, and enjoy some perspectives, from a warmer place:

• What the Smallest Employers Want - with Gusto's Steve Abbott

• State Auto IRA metrics

• Key updates from California, Colorado, New Mexico and Maine

• News! - a shift is coming at Massena Associates, and we are excited to share!

• Hot Sauce, Cool Stuff: this week's must reads

• Pix of the week – retirement security ruminations from the land of George Washington, in excellent company.

We love October. Not just because we get to over-decorate our houses and buy way too much candy without judgment, but also because here in the U.S. we promote #National RetirementSecurityMonth. It is a time to raise public awareness about the importance of saving for retirement. So join the hashtag, grab your favorite pumpkin spice drink and settle in for some retirement savings updates:

• 6 facts you need to know about inequality with Boston College’s Geoffrey Sanzenbacher

• Frrreshhh State Auto IRA metrics

• A closer look at … California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, and New York State

• Things we never thought we would see, but possibly the best practice in this space

• Hot Sauce, Cool Stuff: Must knows

• Pix of the week – Willow playing a vital role in nurturing productivity and creativity. Who is Willow, you may ask?

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

We’re enjoying early fall – that season where there’s a nip in the morning air but you’re sure you should be wearing shorts with your neighbors in the afternoon. That is, unless you’re back in the office! Wherever you are, we’ve got cool stuff for you. Settle in for the first-of-fall updates:

• CalSavers leaps forward with Katie Selenski

• We've crossed the $500 million mark! -- state metrics

• Updates from California, Colorado & New Mexico, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont, and Delaware

• Who present-bias, me? Duke’s Perry Wright on precommitment.

• Hot Sauce! Fresh research and some brain expanders

• Pix of the week, from balancing on the SUP to ballparking together ...