Episode Description
Don’t worry, you didn't join the wrong podcast. Yes, HSA plans are typically associated with the health portion of an employee benefits package. However, there has been much discussion in the industry about what you will hear my guest Ana Sabatino, Vice President and Consumer Driven Health Plan Specialist at CIGNA, refer to as the cross functional purpose of HSA plans in helping improve both employee decisions and outcomes in health and wealth. With the growth of HSA plans at over 25% a year for the last four years, more and more employers are utilizing these plans as they introduce consumerism in their healthcare strategy, and the side benefit, that some are realizing, is this means employees are also gaining access to a powerful vehicle with several distinct tax advantages to help pay medical costs in retirement. In this foundational discussion Ana does a great job of explaining how employees at various stages in life can take advantage of HSAs, how they contribute to the evolving conversation of improving both health and wealth and ideas around creating benefits bundles to guide employee decision making. Additionally, Ana offers valuable insights for employers about the importance of setting up internal cross functional teams between health and retirement benefits, how involving company leadership is paramount to success and why you need to have a three year plan for your benefits strategy. This episode stretched me, i hope it does the same for you. Enjoy!
Guest Bio
Ana joined Cigna's leadership team in 2006 as a leading subject matter expert in consumer driven health plans (CDHP). Prior to joining Cigna she was part of the leadership team at Definity Health, the original pioneers of the CDHP model. Her clients include some of the largest fortune 500 organizations that were early adopters of this model in the early 2000’s.
She has 25 years of experience working with health and welfare plans. In the past 13 years, Ana has exclusively focused on working with both public and private sector employers on successful CDHP strategies.
As a subject matter expert for Cigna she is very hands on in helping clients develop successful multi-year strategies using Cigna Choice Fund as an effective enabler of behavior change and health improvement.
Her expertise, results and passionate leadership around designing CDHP strategies “done right” has made her a frequent speaker for Cigna as well as a major contributor in helping Cigna achieve industry leading growth in consumer driven health plans.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with unique viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts.
Episode Summary
If you have been involved in working with retirement benefit plans over the last several years, you have probably been told more times than you can remember that your 401(k) plan comes with fiduciary responsibility. You also have likely noticed the proliferation of 401(k) lawsuits, and that the DOL has released their new Conflict of Interest rule which redefines how one can become a fiduciary. With all of this going on, and the questions that have ensued, I thought it would be a good time to have Blaine AIkin, the Executive Chairman of Fi360, help provide some clarity. Fi360 is the industry leader in providing fiduciary education and training to individuals and organizations in the financial services industry to develop prudent fiduciary practices and promote a fiduciary standard of care. Our conversation covers how employers can use fiduciary safe harbors to limit their fiduciary liability, the importance of having your fiduciary processes nailed and things to do and not to do as a plan fiduciary. Blaine also has some great quotes in the episode such as, there is nothing passive about being a retirement plan fiduciary, you have the fiduciary obligation to not waste money and with the new DOL Conflict of Interest Rule, a non-fiduciary advisor is now a contradiction in terms. Last but not least, I am excited to announce that this and other episodes of the podcast have been submitted for HR recertification credits. To see episodes that are pre-approved or have been submitted for approval please go to www.401kfridays.com/CE.
Guest Bio
Blaine Aikin's goal as Executive Chairman of fi360, is to assure that fi360 provides exceptional professional development programs, investment and business management tools, and business and industry thought leadership to improve the decision making of those who manage money on behalf of others. fi360 seeks to promote a culture of fiduciary responsibility to align the interests of investors and investment professionals.
fi360 helps its clients gather, grow, and protect assets through better investment and business decision-making. Since 1999, fi360 has been providing innovative solutions to financial services providers. We offer the AIF®, AIFA®, and PPC designation programs, the fi360 Toolkit™ software, and fi360 Fiduciary Score®. Ann Schleck and Co., a division of fi360, adds strategic growth support. Additional fi360 capabilities include fiduciary assessments and practice management and compliance.
Career financial services professional with experience in government (U.S. Treasury Department and as Budget Officer of Prince William County, Virginia), investment advisory practice (Principal and CIO of independent advisory firm), and financial product and service management (bank trust department, brokerage, and institutional offerings).
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Helps employers navigate the evolving retirement benefits landscape through weekly engaging interviews with industry leaders, subject matter experts and progressive employers with varying viewpoints. The diverse in-depth perspectives and relevant topics help employers make more informed decisions about their retirement benefit programs which will positively impact their employees and business. For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts
Episode Overview
As an employer, how do statements such as money is not as big of a deal as it used to be, the younger generation want to work for companies they believe are contributing to the greater good and the workforce of the future is going to require new investment to just stay competitive with where you are today? To address these questions and many more, I was excited to have Dr. Joe Coughlin, the founder and director of the MIT AgeLab as my guest on the podcast. During our conversation, Dr. Joe also highlights key issues he has discovered in his research that both finance and human resources professionals need to prepare for. Finally, be sure to listen for Dr. Joe’s thoughts on what keeps employees in the workforce beyond a normal retirement date, just a hint, it is not always money! I hope you enjoy!
Guest Bio
Joseph F. Coughlin, Ph.D. is founder and Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. He teaches policy and systems innovation in MIT’s Sloan School of Management Advanced Management Program and the Department of Urban Studies & Planning. Author of over 150 academic publications, his research explores how demographic change, technology and social trends converge to drive future innovations in business and government. Coughlin publishes the online publication Disruptive Demographics and is a regular contributor to Wall Street Journal MarketWatch. Coughlin is one of Fast Company Magazine’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” and one of the Wall Street Journal’s “12 pioneers inventing the future of retirement and how we will all live, work, and play tomorrow.” The Financial Times profiled him as a ‘guru in global aging’ and Money Magazine dubbed him a ‘retirement game-changer’. He is a Behavioral Sciences Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and a Fellow of Switzerland’s World Demographics & Ageing Forum, advising and speaking to businesses, governments, and non-profits worldwide. Coughlin spoke at Falling Walls in Berlin on the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and was a keynote speaker at the 2014 Nobel Prizes in Stockholm. Dr. Coughlin speaks and consults to industry providing strategic insights and strategy to the financial services and insurance, real estate and healthcare industries in North America and Europe. He can be reached at coughlin@mit.edu and on Twitter @josephcoughlin.
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com/podcasts
Episode Description
As we sit here just past the midpoint of 2016, the 401(k) industry continues to get a lot of attention in the media, with regulators and certainly from employers and their employees. However, what is not talked about very much is how the business of being a record keeper works and what employers should understand about the business models of their service providers. To help shed some light on this topic, I invited Bill Yoerger, President of OneAmerica Retirement Services. Bill is a 30 plus year industry veteran, who runs the corporate retirement division of OneAmerica that supports over 1 million participants, has over 800 employees and has completed three acquisitions over the last five years. Bill is also included as a perennial member of the most influential people in the retirement industry. During our conversation, you will hear him share some candid thoughts on the different business models record keepers utilize, questions all employers should be asking their service providers and key topics and trends employers should pay attention to that could impact their retirement service providers going forward.
Guest Bio
Bill is the President of the OneAmerica Retirement Services Division of the American United Life Insurance Company (AUL). He is responsible for the leadership, coordination, and guidance to all Retirement Services operations including sales, marketing, record-keeping, and administration functions.
He joined AUL in 1993 as a Regional Vice President after a successful career selling retirement plans and services for CIGNA. Prior to his sales career there, he was a Group and Pension Representative for Principal Financial Group in the Cleveland area. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President of AUL’s Retirement Services division.
Bill received his B.S. in Business Administration at The Ohio State University
Professional Designations and Associations:
Former chair, LIMRA Retirement Investment Committee
Member, SPARK Institute
Member, Retirement Services Roundtable
401(k) Fridays Podcast Overview
Welcome to the 401(k) Fridays Podcast, where employers come to learn and retirement industry leaders come to share their unique stories, experiences and perspectives. My name is Rick Unser, and I am your host. Each episode leverages my nearly two decades of experience as a retirement consultant and features a candid interview with an industry expert to help enhance fiduciary protection, streamline plan operations or improve participant retirement readiness.
For more information please visit www.401kfridays.com