Weekly Agenda
Summer Public Policy Series
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
10:30 am Exhibit Hall Opens
11:00 am – 11:10 am Opening Remarks
John Geli, SS&C Technologies
U.S. Representative Phil Roe, R-MD
11:10 am – 12:00 pm Insights from the Regulators on Recent Guidance
Melissa Kahn, State Street Global Advisors (moderator)
Joe Canary, DOL
Jeff Turner, DOL
Pam Kinard, Office of Chief Counsel, IRS
Ronald Rutherford-Triche, Office of Chief Counsel, IRS
Stephen Tackney, Office of Chief Counsel, IRS
Regulators have released a torrent of guidance to implement the CARES Act and deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department of Labor has three pending retirement proposals that could reshape our industry. Hear directly from senior regulators at the DOL and IRS on recent guidance and what to expect for the remainder of 2020.
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm Break
12:30 pm – 1:20 pm Update from the Hill
Chris Gaston, Davis & Harman LLP
Charlie Bolton, Sen. R. Portman (R-OH)
Vic Goetz, Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10)
Kevin McDermott, U.S. House of Representatives
Lori Prater, Rep. M. Kelly (R-PA)
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Break
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
10:30 amExhibit Hall Opens
11:00 am – 11:10 amOpening Remarks
Mary Beth Glotzbach, Franklin Templeton
U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD)
11:10 am – 12:00 pmPEPs/MEPs: What’s Next
Michael Davis, T. Rowe Price (moderator)
Randy Long, SageView Advisory Group
Chantel Sheaks, US Chamber of Commerce
Joe Smolen, Empower Retirement
Experts in retirement will discuss the key highlights from SECURE affecting PEPs/MEPs, the roles/functions associated with their delivery, regulatory oversight/plan governance, challenges/opportunities and how we move forward from here.
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm Break
12:30 pm – 1:20 pmUniversal Workplace Savings Plans
Kevin Cox, Ascensus (moderator)
Alex Mazer, Common Wealth
Darren Philp, Smart Pension
Kirby Rappell, SuperRatings, AUS
Katie Selenski, CalSavers Retirement Savings Program
Panel will focus on the role of Universal Workplace Savings (UWS) plans in helping to maximize retirement coverage for the working population. Global experts will explore the different models – both emerging and mature – that have been deployed in Australia, the U.K., Canada, and the U.S. What successes have we seen, lessons learned along the way, and what the future of UWS plans may look like.
1:30 pm – 2:20 pm BREAKOUT SESSIONS
SESSION A – Using Alternatives in DC Plans
Bill Ryan, Aon (moderator)
Jonathan Epstein, DCALTA
Charlie Nelson, Voya Financial
Sara Shean, PGIM Real Estate and Co-President DCREC
Kevin Walsh, Groom Law Group
The recent DOL Information Letter on using private equity in a DC plan has reignited the ongoing conversation regarding using alternative investments in the DC space. Experts will provide a legal analysis of the Information Letter, as well as discuss both the investment-related and the operational benefits and challenges of using various alternative investments in defined contribution plans.
SESSION B – Deep Dive on SECURE – Open Questions on Key Operational Aspects
Chris Robino, SS&C Technologies (moderator)
Michael Hadley, Davis & Harman LLP
Rachel Kugelmass, Conduent
Rod Stortenbecker, Lincoln Financial Group
The SECURE Act is a welcome piece of legislation for our industry and has many features that will enhance retirement savings for many working Americans. However, open questions remain on how key aspects of this legislation will be implemented. This session is a deep dive operational review of the SECURE Act to address potential issues and open questions.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
10:30 amExhibit Hall Opens
11:00 am – 11:10 amOpening Remarks
Melissa Kahn, State Street Global Advisors
Bobby Scott, U.S. Representative (D-VA)
11:10 am – 12:00 pmPensions and the Aftermath of the Coronavirus Crisis
Charles Millard, Amundi Pioneer (moderator)
Pablo Antolin, OECD
Keith Brainard, NASRA
David Draine, The Pew Charitable Trusts
The pandemic of 2020 has upended all aspects of our daily lives globally, including how we plan and save for retirement. This session asks and tries to answer the important questions of what is next and how do we get back on track with retirement savings?
12:00 pm – 12:30 pmBreak
12:30 pm – 1:20 pmHow the World Saves: The Evolution in Global DC Systems
Debra Whitman, AARP (moderator)
Gustavo Demarco, The World Bank
Rich Magner, Infosys McCamish Systems
Steve Utkus, Vanguard
This session will lead off with a discussion of the issues facing DC systems around the globe, with a focus on providing universal coverage. The Australian and UK models offer two different alternatives to a comprehensive / universal DC system, as opposed to the US system which is voluntary and has only half of workers covered.
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Break
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
10:30 amExhibit Hall Opens
11:00 am – 11:10 amOpening Remarks
Rob Schneinerman, AIG
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
11:10 am – 12:00 pmFinancial Wellness: Priorities and Challenges
Jessica Sclafani, MFS Investment Management (moderator)
Karen Andres, The Aspen Institute
Cindy Hounsell, WISER
Elizabeth Mulholland, Prosper Canada
Marlon Sullivan, Abbott
Within the broad framework of financial wellness, experts will address measures taken to address three topics: student loan debt, emergency savings, and issues that are particularly impactful to women, such as fraud and the costs of caregiving. In light of the COVID-19 crisis, have these issues been reprioritized or emphasized by policymakers, plan sponsors and participants?
12:00 pm – 12:30 pmBreak
12:30 pm – 1:20 pmEngaging Participants Post Crisis
Allie Shafer, SS&C Retirement Solutions (moderator)
Alicia Hartjen, SS&C Retirement Solutions
Megan Yost, Segal Benz
If a participant ran a retirement analysis as recent as February, those results may no longer be valid, as they may have not only lost income, but had to dip into savings. Session explores best practices for participant re-engagement, including new segmentation strategies, as well as highlight how leveraging the right tools and resources can help participants get their retirement savings back on track.
1:30 pm – 2:20 pm BREAKOUT SESSIONS
SESSION A – Data Privacy in Retirement: An Inflection Point?
Cindy Volker, Broadridge Financial Solutions (moderator)
Kendra Isaacson, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)
David Levine, Groom Law Group
With the convergence of health, retirement and wealth, there is more focus than ever on privacy and the use of information related to retirement plans. This focus ranges from states, like California and the CCPA, to federal regulators like the DOL and SEC, to Congress itself. Where is this growing movement headed? This session will focus on the current landscape and where privacy may impact the retirement system as we move forward.
SESSION B – Industry Roundtable Discussion on Lifetime Income Disclosures
Denise Gumlak, Enterprise Iron Financial Industry Solutions (facilitator)
Keri Dogan, Fidelity Investments
Jenny Glowacki, AIG Retirement Services
Benny Goodman, TIAA
Michael Hadley, Davis & Harman LLP
Bob Holcomb, Empower Retirement
Roberta Rafaloff, MetLife
Jeff Turner, DOL
Industry experts are invited to share their perspectives on how lifetime income disclosures are provided to participants. The DoL has been invited to attend this session and gather insights on this issue as they prepare their own rules on lifetime income disclosures.
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
10:30 amExhibit Hall Opens
11:00 am – 11:10 amOpening Remarks
Tim Rouse, SPARK Institute
11:10 am – 12:00 pmRecent Plan Litigation: Key Takeaways for Fiduciaries
Mike Raso, PineBridge Investments
DeMario Carswell, Goodwin
Tom Clark, The Wagner Law Group
Jamie Fleckner, Goodwin
Diane Gallagher, American Century Investments
Since 2008, defined contribution plans have faced increased litigation risk, particularly related to investments, fees and self-dealing. This panel will reflect on lessons learned from recent cases—including the class-action lawsuit brought against American Century Services, LLC—and look forward to potential trends on the horizon.
12:00 pm – 12:30 pmBreak
12:30 pm – 1:20 pmTrust: The Most Important Factor
Neil Lloyd, Mercer (moderator)
Catherine Collinson, Transamerica Institute
David Ireland, State Street Global Advisors
Josef Pilger, EY
Defined contribution savings plans have proven to be one of the greatest wages-to-wealth mechanisms in financial history. But they also transfer responsibility – and risk – to savers. For the plans to thrive an “ecosystem” of trust must extend from plan participants to plan sponsors, to financial service providers, insurers, advisors, asset managers, technology providers, regulators and public policy professionals. Trust is perhaps the most important factor, but also the hardest to measure.
1:30 pm – 2:20 pm BREAKOUT SESSIONS
SESSION A – An Examination of Portability for Lifetime Income
Ryan Grosdider, SS&C Technologies (moderator)
Scott Colangelo, Prime Capital Investment Advisors
Ralph Ferraro, Lincoln Financial Group
Rick Luchinsky, American Century Investments
Steve Manthie, Deloitte
Hutch Schafer, Nationwide Financial
With the expansion of lifetime income products being made available through more plans, to more participants, portability of these products has become an important concern. The SECURE Act addresses provisions for portability and other options for plan sponsors to consider.
SESSION B – Adoption of ESG Globally
Lisa Woll, US SIF (moderator)
Guillermo Cano, MSCI
Sarah Bratton Hughes, Schroders
Jeri Savage, Rocaton Investment Advisors
Stacey Tovrov, BlackRock
ESG investments are a hot topic for many investors and with the recent guidance from the DoL more plans are discussing their ESG policies. This session will examine ESG’s both here and in Europe to better understand various approaches to this asset class.
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
10:30 amExhibit Hall Opens
11:00 am – 11:10 amOpening Remarks
Peg Knox, DCIIA
11:10 am – 12:00 pmGlobal Aging and Lifetime Income: How Should Global DC Systems Cope?
Jody Strakosch, Strakosch Retirement Strategies, LLC (moderator)
Dr. Abigail Hurwitz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Per Linneman, Linneman Actuarial Consulting
Tim Pitney, TIAA
Mark Rowlands, NEST Corporation
Countries around the world are addressing their aging workforce and how to best provide a reliable income for life. This session looks at several countries and the approaches they are taking.
12:00 pm – 12:30 pmBreak
12:30 pm – 1:20 pmWill Europe Embrace DC Savings?
John Mitchem, JM3 Projects (moderator)
Simon Colboc, European Pensions Institute
Christian Lemaire, Amundi
Ziga Vizintin, Pokojninska družba A
Europe’s traditional pay-as-you-go State pensions are under profound stress, driven by aging demographics, zero-bound interest rates and high levels of government debt. Defined contribution retirement savings plans are being rolled out across the continent to supplement these plans, generate middle class wealth and raise capital for industry.
1:30 pm – 2:20 pm BREAKOUT SESSIONS
SESSION A – Role of the Employer in DC Plans
Aron Szapiro, Morningstar (moderator)
Josh Cohen, PGIM
Lynn Dudley, American Benefits Council
Anne Lester, Author
Natalya Shnitser, Boston College Law School
In the United States, retirement benefits are largely rooted in an employer-based system. In this panel, we’ll explore the implications of this model on American workers, how it compares to other systems offered internationally and how it might be integrated with other solutions.
SESSION B – Fraud Prevention
Doug Peterson, Empower Retirement (moderator)
Dennis Lamm, Fidelity Investments
Les McCollum, ICMA-RC
Mark Strosahl, Principal
Jeanne Wilson, US Department of Labor
Fraud has always been a threat to retirement savers, but historical fraud has typically come from within family members. An unsettling trend over the last few years shows fraud coming from non-family actors who are able to use data from breaches to try and access participants accounts. The retirement industry has come together to strengthen the overall system and prevent these types of attacks. This session discusses the steps the industry is taking to better protect savers.