Background: DCIIA, The Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, and The Morningstar Center for Retirement and Policy Studies are committed to making retirement savings an inclusive instrument of wealth creation. Through the Collaborative for Equitable Retirement Savings (CFERS) we are bringing together leading employers, recordkeepers, consultants, advisors, advocates, and racial equity experts as well as other key players in the retirement ecosystem. The goal is to create a platform that will promote understanding of how and why our current system does not work for everyone and allow us to take the steps necessary to close these gaps.Progress to Date: The first step on this journey is knowing where we are—to that end, we are linking anonymized employee demographic information with the defined contribution plan recordkeeping data and working with plan sponsors to understand how their plan participants are doing across demographic groups.We have had numerous conversations with plan sponsors and service providers. The universe already has approximately 300,000 employees, and, with a number of plan sponsors in the queue alone, we expect this number to double in the coming quarter.Preliminary data insights were showcased at the RRC Summit earlier this month, and they will be featured in our upcoming Research Minutes.Holly Verdeyen (Mercer), Kai Walker (Bank of America), and Jack VanDerhei (Morningstar Center for Retirement and Policy Studies) on a panel at the 2023 RRC Summit hosted by Dimensional Fund Advisors in Charlotte, NC.Read next week’s Research Minute for preliminary findings and join us in building out a data universe that will make a difference.Ways to get involved:1. Provide your plan’s de-identified information to the universe. All participating employers receive complimentary, customized, detailed plan analysis and consulting around ways to close gaps (including “you v universe” comparisons)!2. For recordkeepers, advisors, consultants and other service providers, consider introducing your plan sponsor clients and partners to this opportunity and support their participation.3. Become a strategic partner and formally join the initiative.If you are interested in getting involved with this project, either as a partner or by contributing data, email info@dciia.org or pam.hess@dciia.org with any questions. Visit the project website at www.cfers.org for more information.