There’s always something new in the retirement space – which for us lives at the fascinating intersection of tax law, legislation, technology, and innovative thinking. We’re excited to be here today with both the Cofounder and Chief Product Officers and the Chief Operating Officer for Guideline – Jeremy ‘Call me Cabs’ Caballero and Jeff Rosenberger talking about what’s new in fintech – and how they view the emerging Starter 401(k) space.

What’s one year old and has 40,000 new savers? You guessed it – it’s Colorado’s Secure Choice retirement savings program. We caught up with Treasurer Dave Young and Executive Director Hunter Railey to get the latest news from the Rocky Mountain State. Keen observations, innovation, and some sage advice ahead. Read on!

This week, we are delighted to have conversations with Colleen Davis, the State Treasurer of Delaware, and Ted Griffith, the Program Director of Delaware EARNS. This dynamic duo are bringing to life the nation’s next Auto IRA program and the first such retirement security opportunity for the great state of Delaware. We can’t wait to see the unique thinking they bring to the space. Cool news ahead.

We’re a fan of good news around here. We love celebrating! But when Mercer gives the US retirement savings system a “C” on the global scale we have to admit we feel a bit meh.

It’s one thing to be beaten by the Netherlands and Australia. Things start to hurt a bit when you’re beaten out of the top 20 by Canada … and even Kazakhstan.

So, what have the Kazakhs and the Canucks got right that we don’t? Let’s take a closer look.

With a civilian labor force of 4.5 million, Virginia leaders had a lot to think about when they realized a good chunk of those folks didn’t have workplace access to retirement savings. That’s all changing. We talk today with program director Peter Thompson about the present, the future, and what he’s seeing in this new space.

It’s not often that we dedicate ourselves to the topic of investment results and all the activity that goes into them. It’s true: small improvements in investment results over a long period of time makes for big impact.

At 5%, $100 a month deposited faithfully over 40 years can grow to over $153,000. (We’re using a simple calculator from Nerdwallet. Do try this at home).

Persistence pays off. It’s not always easy getting a new retirement savings program off the ground. It is, however, very rewarding to see the results once you’ve done it. This week we have the pleasure of chatting with Connecticut’s Comptroller, Natalie Braswell, and Executive Director of the MyCTSavings Program, Jessica Muirhead, on progress and priorities in the Nutmeg State.

This week we have the pleasure of chatting with Steve Abbott, Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs for Gusto. We first met Steve during his tenure at the Pew Charitable Trusts, and we recall talking over tacos about retirement savings. In his transition to the private sector, Steve’s kept a true north focus on financial inclusion and design simplicity.

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.

We are ruthless in our search for truth! … about what’s going on in the world of retirement studies and public policy. Join us as we chat with Morningstar’s Aron Szapiro about fresh research and counter-intuitive findings on topics ranging from the retirement landscape to the racial wealth gap. The goods start here.

Since 2017, CalSavers’ Katie Selenski has been in charge of what has quickly become – and is likely to remain -- the nation’s largest Auto IRA program. While the successes are wonderful, the challenges are also very real. What’s it like to launch a program that covers nearly 8 million workers?

This week we chat with Ida Rademacher, Vice President and Director of Aspen’s Financial Security Program, and Karen Andres, Director of Policy and Market Solutions for the Program. We’re hitting four hot topics: the power of automatic enrollment. What happens when we re-imagine retirement? Innovation among our financial services providers. And maybe most importantly, the call for a national strategy on financial inclusion.

We’re excited to talk with our friend Will Sandbrook for several reasons. One, he’s been with Nest Corporation (UK) since it started. Ten years on, we want to know what he sees. Two, Will is Managing Director of Nest Insight, Nest’s in-house research and thought leadership unit focused on delivering cutting-edge research into how to improve retirement outcomes for the ‘DC generation.’ We always want to know what’s fresh news where he is. Among other initiatives, we touch on new results from the emergency savings space. Almost everything that’s going on in the UK is, or will soon be, very relevant to us in the US.

The author discusses state-based automated workplace savings programs and how, when fully implemented, current authorized programs will have the ability to provide workplace retirement access for about 19 million workers – or about one-third of the 57 million workers who are estimated to be uncovered by a workplace savings plan today.

We talk today with the dynamic trio that are part of the OregonSaves team led by Michael Parker in the offices of Treasurer Tobias Read – an advocate for family financial wellness in Oregon. This trio includes David Bell, Deputy Director of the Oregon Treasury Savings Network, who first joined focused on the brand-new ABLE savings program. Sabra Purifoy, Operations Director for the Oregon Treasury Savings Network, manages the operational functions of the division and all of the program's savings plans. And Renzo Meza, the team’s newest addition, leads Outreach, Strategic Partnerships, and Education

What has Ascenus learned over five+ years in the State Auto IRA world, and what are they up to next? We chat with Government Savings head Peg Creonte and SVP Scott Parry about their perspectives, lessons learned, and next generation thinking.

What’s special about Maryland$aves? Lots of things! We had a chance to catch up with program board chair the Honorable Josh Gotbaum and executive director Glenn Simmons as the program is going live - about four innovations and the realities of rolling out a new statewide program. Read on for the inside scoop.

We recently had a chance to join the Honorable Kathleen Kennedy Townsend at some important, innovation-oriented meetings in Washington DC, including the Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives’ gathering of states, and NAST. Join us we meet one on one to capture three retirement security priorities and other key nuggets.

Last week we promised you the inside scoop from five rooms, five topics, but we only gave you room #1. These five hot topics are culled from conferences and calls thoughtfully curated and hosted by the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, DCIIA’s Innovation Forum Team, Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives’ State Retirement Savings Program Network, NAST’s Legislative Conference Team, and even the Conference of the Western Region Chartered Financial Analyst Societies. So what’s behind those other doors? Good stuff you need.

This piece is going to be more like a meal than a snack. So, we’re serializing it. These are the things you need to know from five rooms we’ve been in this month. OK one was a chat room, it’s true! These five hot topics are culled from conferences and calls thoughtfully curated and hosted by the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, DCIIA’s Innovation Forum Team, Georgetown Center for Retirement Initiatives’ State Retirement Savings Program Network, NAST’s Legislative Conference Team, and even the Conference of the Western Region Chartered Financial Analyst Societies. So we’re going to spill it. The question is, what are you going to do with it?

We first met Aaron Schumm in the rooms where nerdy people talk about the future of retirement savings, and how it might be made better, faster. As a private sector expert he is, of course, anything but nerdy. Aaron is the founder and CEO of Vestwell, a “modern engine powering savings and investment programs for small businesses and individual savers”. So what do they think of Auto IRAs? We had to know.

If you know Alice, you love Alice. She will push you and make you better, gently and yet very firmly. Alice Tang started her financial advisory career in 2000, helping clients define their relationship with money and move toward achieving financial freedom using her financial planning process and leveraging tax-advantaged strategies. Many of her clients are female business owners and executives. Alice shares her current thoughts here.

Our friend Hunter Railey is a passionate and accomplished advocate for small business and retirement readiness. Today, we’re talking with Hunter about his experience so far bringing Colorado’s pioneering state-run savings plan from the idea stage to implementation.

Our friend Tyler Bond is an accomplished advocate and researcher with experience working for political campaigns, advocacy organizations, think tanks, and on Capitol Hill. His professional focus is retirement, specifically, and economic policy, broadly. His writing has been featured in outlets such as The Hill, MarketWatch, and the Huffington Post and he has been quoted in various outlets including Barron's and The Financial Times … and Retirement Security Matters.