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Talking Guaranteed Lifetime Income Solutions with Allianz Life’s Michael De FeoGuaranteed lifetime income in retirement plans is a hot topic these days, with study after study revealing that Americans want to know more about it and view these products as a good fit to help them reach their financial objectives.While 401(k) plan sponsors are showing increasing interest in adding guaranteed income products to their benefit programs, there’s still a lot of confusion surrounding what they are and how they work among retirement plan advisors and plan sponsors alike. To help us sort it all out and understand what’s happening in this growing market, we are joined by Michael De Feo, Head of Defined Contribution Distribution at Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, which has recently expanded into the defined contribution market as more Americans say they want guaranteed income options in their employer-sponsored plan. De Feo shares his insights about how the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 has spurred innovation in guaranteed lifetime income product design, the barriers to widespread adoption these products still face, and a shift toward more personalization through managed accounts and hybrid plan design.--------------- 1 Institutional retirement reference guide, LIMRA, 2022. 2 U.S. Defined Contribution Distribution 2022, Cerulli & Associates, 2022. This content is for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide fiduciary, tax, or legal advice and cannot be used to avoid tax penalties; nor is it intended to market, promote, or recommend any tax plan or arrangement. Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, its affiliates, and their employees and representatives do not give legal or tax advice or advice related to Medicare or Social Security benefits. You are encouraged to consult with your own legal, tax, and financial professionals for specific advice or product recommendations, or to go to your local Social Security Administration office regarding your particular situation. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. • Not FDIC insured • May lose value • No bank or credit union guarantee • Not a deposit • Not insured by any federal government agency or NCUA/NCUSIF Products are issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, 5701 Golden Hills Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55416-1297. (C64712-MVA) Product and feature availability may vary by state and broker/dealer.

5 Big Issues with Small 401(k) Plans: Rebalance’s David RanneySmall-business 401(k) plans face a lot of specific issues and challenges that don’t necessarily impact larger retirement plans. This week we’re focusing squarely on some hot-button issues specifically related to small 401(k) plans, and to help us do that we’re joined by an expert in the field, David Ranney, who joined the team at small-biz 401(k) specialist Rebalance a few months back after spending more than two decades at Fidelity Investments. There he led the workplace investing team in a variety of managerial roles, including Vice President of Sales. A VP of Sales at Rebalance, which features the proprietary small-biz 401(k) offering, “better K,” David helps small business owners learn how to detect and avoid high fees, how to optimize asset allocation, increase plan participation and take advantage of retirement planning resources. In today’s podcast, he shares insights about the five major issues he’s identified with small 401(k)s and why it’s important to face them head-on.

Tackling Student Loan Debt Relief Issues with Candidly’s Laurel Taylor  Student loan debt has gotten plenty of attention lately, thanks not only to the great news about the student loan debt repayment provision in SECURE 2.0, but also because of the ongoing pause on federal student loan payments, President Biden’s controversial student debt forgiveness program, and the lawsuits from a number of red states that are currently preventing that program from moving forward with Supreme Court arguments on deck.  Here to help us sort it all out is Laurel Taylor, the founder and CEO of Candidly, a student debt solutions and financial wellness technology firm that’s dealing with these topics every day. Taylor shares insights advisors need to know about this hot-button 2023 topic.

Josh Itzoe’s Been Busy, and 401(k) Advisors are Reaping the BenefitsFormer TAPO honoree Josh Itzoe is now spending his days helping other 401(k) advisors. As the Founder & CEO of FiduciaryWor(k)s and its FiduciaryRx platform, he focuses on developing insights, research, technology, fiduciary consulting, and practice management coaching in the areas of fiduciary responsibility and workplace retirement. It seems he’s constantly launching new products and enhancements all geared toward making life easier for advisors—and he talks about the rewarding transition and his busy agenda in this week’s 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast.

Bonnie Treichel Talks Retirement Income Solutions, the New ESG Rule and SECURE 2.0There’s a select few people in the retirement business who seem like they’re just about everywhere, and are involved in just about everything. Bonnie Treichel from Endeavor Retirement is one of those people.As the Chief Solutions Officer of Endeavor Retirement, she uses her unique experience as an ERISA attorney and an advisor to help remove the weight of retirement plan complexities by empowering advisors to teach their plan sponsor clients about governance and the importance of a sound process.She also works closely with the Retirement Income Consortium to help advance its goal of accelerating the adoption of guaranteed income solutions in retirement plans. She talks about that, some key thoughts about SECURE 2.0, and the impending new ESG rule in this first 2023 episode of the 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast.

The Groom Law Group’s Jake Eigner Talks Final SECURE 2.0 Hurdles and New ESG Rule Impacts Groom Law Group Attorney Jake Eigner—a rising young star in the ERISA community—highlights some of the sticking points that need to be worked out in finalizing the SECURE 2.0 retirement reform package on Capitol Hill, including differences in the three bills making up the package, RMD age timelines, and an issue with increasing access to Collective Investment Trusts in 403b plans. Eigner—who prior to his legal career was a Vice President at a large Registered Investment Advisor—also gives his thoughts on the Department of Labor’s new ESG rule, its impact on QDIAs, and why the new rule may only be temporary.

The Carson Group’s Jamie P. Hopkins is a busy guy. A nationally recognized writer and researcher who frequently speaks at events around the country, Jamie is the Managing Partner of Wealth Solutions at the Carson Group, and he’s also a Finance Professor at Creighton University’s Business School. On top of that, he’s got a new book this month, “Find Your Freedom: Financial Planning for a Life on Purpose.” We wanted to get his take on why he wrote the new book along with Ron Carson, but of course, while we had a few minutes with him we also wanted to get his take on some other hot-button issues facing the retirement industry right now, such as the recent midterm election and what he thinks might be the most impactful provision of pending SECURE 2.0 legislation (and why we’re not ready for it).

Surprising Findings About Participant Retirement Income Perceptions: Invesco’s Greg Jenkins   Our friends at Invesco recently released a voluminous new study exploring 401k plan participant and plan sponsor preferences for generating long-term retirement income. The research unearthed some rather surprising findings, including that only a very small percentage of 401k participants are confident in their ability to generate a retirement income strategy on their own. And perhaps not so surprisingly, a majority of participants are worried they will run out of money in retirement. To dive into some of the biggest surprises uncovered in the new research, our 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast guest today is Greg Jenkins, Managing Director and Head of Institutional Defined Contribution at Invesco.  • Read the full study, “Show Me the Income,” here. 

What Excites, Intrigues Ascensus CEO David Musto about the Industry?What’s happening with sequence-of-return risk, inflation, and the possibility of more delayed retirements? There are few better to answer than Dave Musto, CEO of independent recordkeeping giant Ascensus.Musto joins us to talk about these topics and more, and as Halloween approaches, what scares him about the industry? 

Here's the Skinny on President Biden's Student Loan Debt ReliefLong expected, it's finally happened. President Biden declared student loan debt relief for certain borrowers through what the administration calls targeted cancellation.We wanted to know what it meant for borrowers and retirement savers and what impact it might have on employee benefits, so we asked Jeffrey Hull, founder of Savvy Financial. It’s a firm that helps employers empower their employees to both save for college and pay off student debt.

SRP’s Shannon Maloney Likes to Make Tough Guys Cry—Here’s WhyShannon Maloney is a Desert Storm veteran, Managing Director with Strategic Retirement Partners (SRP), and a monthly finalist for the 2022 Top Advisor by Participant Outcomes. Shannon joined us to talk about ESOPs and defined benefit plans, which are two areas of her expertise. She also discussed what her military background taught her about the 401(k) business and her joy in making tough guys cry.

Vestwell CEO Aaron Schumm on Who Owns the Participant and What’s Next for RecordkeepingWe pitched Vestwell CEO Aaron Schumm a softball question to start the interview and hit him with a hard follow-up. True to form, he deftly fielded both.The digital 401(k) recordkeeper is on a tear of late, raising money from major players, and is now named to INC. magazine’s list of the fastest growing U.S. companies. We discuss needed disruption in the recordkeeping space, a pivot to college savings, and what’s next for the industry and company.

Schroders’ Deb Boyden on Alternative Assets, ESG, and Other Investment Menu Hot Button IssuesDeveloping an effective investment menu for 401(k) plan sponsors is always a tricky yet interesting proposition. Include too few options and it lacks proper diversification, but add too many, and plan participants are quickly overwhelmed. Schroders’ Deb Boyden, Head of US Defined Contribution, is here to help us figure it out.  She explains what and what not to include, the value of active and passive options, and best practices for advisors when educating employees.

intellicent’s Grant Arends Adds Another ‘F-Word’ to Fees, Funds, and FiduciaryIt’s always fun speaking with the Arends brothers about their very successful financial firm intellicents. Grant Arends, the company’s Co-Founder and President of Retirement Services, also happens to be our Top Advisor by Participant Outcomes (TAPO) for the month of July, an honor long overdue.  He joins us to discuss his laser-like focus on worksite financial planning, how the firm defines retirement plan success and, of course, a particular client case of which he’s most proud.

Recordkeeper Revolutionary Faith Teope on Combating Financial AbuseFaith Teope is a multimedia journalist, advocate, and retirement industry expert with a passion for helping others. Her fascinating story includes going from executive assistant to CEO of Texas-based TPA and recordkeeper Leverage Retirement.She’s dedicated to combating financial abuse, which she notes is often silent and shows no-visible bruises. She discusses her advocacy, what TPAs and recordkeepers can do better, and she relates a great story about her childhood business success.

This week, we’re joined by high-profile advisor Tyrone Ross Jr., whose outspokenness on controversial topics has gotten him noticed of late.  After a surprising, and as of yet, unexplained exit from the crypto platform he co-founded, he’s back with two new endeavors, which he explains in the latest issue of our magazine. He also talks about bitcoin in retirement plans, financial education, and what the industry needs to do to be more inclusive.

Nicole Corning is a published author, podcaster, blogger, former political strategist, and managing partner with Buckman & Corning Financial Strategies Group. If that isn't enough, she also happens to be our Top Advisor By Participant Outcomes (TAPO) for the month of April. Among other topics, she joins us to discuss a particular retirement plan case that, while successful, was extremely educational and in her words, humbling. She also describes her efforts with diversity and inclusion, particularly with professional women. 

We all know the dangers of using too many industry buzzwords, but Mike Webb of CAPTRUST found some surprises when doing his own research. We have to say Webb or Webby to friends and colleagues is one of our more enjoyable conversations recently due to his infectious energy. He joined us to discuss a niche market of particular success, one of the worst things about being acquired by an aggregator, and what he does so well.

Recent market volatility has people thinking about guaranteed income sources in retirement, and there’s not a bigger one for most Americans than Social Security. But when to claim and how to best pair it with other retirement income sources are critically important questions, which thankfully Sri Reddy, Senior Vice President with Retirement and Income Solutions at Principal Financial Group, is here to answer. He joins us to discuss inflation and COLA adjustments, possible help in SECURE 2.0 and much more.

Here’s a little Monday morning and Monday afternoon inspiration, Chris Roper has a lofty goal of helping one million people over the course of his career, and so far, he’s on track to do so. It’s one of the reasons Roper, with Kansas-based Qualified Plan Advisors, is one of our Top Advisors by Participant Outcomes. He tells us about how, specifically, he’ll reach his goal, a retirement plan case of which he’s particularly proud, and what the firm does better than anyone else.