Background: This week’s Research Minute will look back at some of the most thought provoking insights from the RRC Summit held this past November in New York City at BNY Mellon. The event brought together a wide variety of speakers, from quick sessions led by academics and researchers, to panels that framed plan sponsor and industry discussions. Let’s see what they had to say.

Findings:

Solving the Financial Wellness Puzzle

Speakers: Luis Fleites, Empower, Kimberly Masucci, Raytheon Technologies, Yemi Rose, OfColor, David John, AARP (Moderator)

In the post-pandemic landscape, strategies for addressing the financial wellness puzzle include implementing emergency savings programs, integrating artificial intelligence for personalization, and improving communications and plan design. Another idea noted was offering one-on-one financial coaching tailored to individuals who share similar lived experiences with the financial counselors.

Did you know: Nearly 70% of women have never met with a financial advisor.

Public Sector Workers and Retirement

Speakers: Joanne Moore and Barbara Rayll, Corebridge

Challenges with 403(b) plans, especially higher education, range from widening funding gaps to key financial stressors such as student debt and inflation. But most concerning is uncertainty surrounding public sector workers’ progress toward achieving their envisioned retirement goals, with women exhibiting higher levels of uncertainty.

Did you know: Most people, particularly Gen X participants, have said they fear running out of money more than death.

Reframing the Retirement Income Discussion

Speakers: Glenn Dial, American Century Investments, Howard Li, AllianceBernstein, Mark Paulson, Allianz Life, Elizabeth Heffernan, Micruity (Moderator)

The participant perspective is to default on the entirety of their account balance for more flexibility in selecting their income amounts at retirement, but the institutional perspective looks at various considerations when incorporating guaranteed income. Smaller plans prefer integration of an income solution with existing investment options, while larger plans offer standalone options.

Did you know: 75% of participants insist on maintaining full control of retirement accounts during retirement.

Bottom line: These sessions dove into the RRC’s continuing topics of interest such as financial wellness, participant perspectives, and retirement planning challenges for an ever-changing landscape. In the coming weeks, we will do a deeper dive into more of the RRC Summit sessions. To read a full recap of the Summit, click here.