The traditional model of full
retirement at a fixed date is on the wane, and this may affect
employers’ ability to manage human capital.
Willis Towers Watson
surveyed 4,049 retirees ages 65 or older and found that for most people,
the decision to retire was prompted by both personal and professional
circumstances. Personal circumstances were the top retirement drivers.
Almost two in three retirees (64%) reported that personal
circumstances—ranging from health issues to a desire for more leisure
time—were quite or extremely important to their retirement decision.
Employer
incentives were the second most important influence on retirement. More
than half (56%) of retirees cited employer retirement plans and other
employer incentives as key factors in their decision to retire.
Twenty-three percent gave reasons related to their working environment,
and the majority of those said that feeling disengaged from their
employer, their job or both played a pivotal role in their retirement
decision.
The survey respondents retired across almost 35
years—from the 1980s through 2014—allowing for an analysis of changing
retirement motives. Older retirees gave different reasons for retiring
than younger retirees. A substantially larger proportion (41%) of those
who retired in the 1980s cited employer programs (retirement benefits
and other incentives) as a major motive to retire, compared with those
who retired more recently (27%).
Meanwhile, personal reasons,
eligibility for government programs and workplace factors—most often
disengagement—have gained greater influence.
NEXT: Feelings about retirement
Nearly one in 10 retirees regretted their decision to retire, and 44%
of those with regrets said they would like to return to work. Regret
was less common for those who retired for personal reasons or in
response to employer incentives, but the incidence rises to 17% among
those who retired because of job dissatisfaction.
Including
retirees who felt highly disengaged at work and/or not valued by their
employer pushes the percentage with regrets to almost 20%. This is
likely to become more problematic in the future, as more employees
continue working because they can’t afford to retire, despite feeling
disappointed and less engaged with their jobs, according to Willis
Towers Watson.
The overwhelming majority of retirees reported
having more leisure time: 55% spent a lot more time pursuing other
activities, and 43% spent more time with family and friends. However,
nearly one in 10 retirees cited financial concerns and roughly one in
eight believed they had retired too soon. Eight percent of retirees felt
shocked by retirement or had trouble with the lack of routine or other
adjustment difficulties.
Retirees’ experiences were strongly
influenced by their reasons for retiring. Those who retired of their own
volition had fewer negative experiences. Those who retired because of
dissatisfaction with their workplace had more negative experiences: 31%
felt they had retired too soon, 24% had difficulty adjusting and 23%
worried about whether they could afford retirement.
As more
people delay retirement, the work environment is assuming a larger role
in retirement decisions, with workers’ feelings about their jobs
becoming increasingly instrumental. Willis Towers Watson concludes this
is signaling that changing the work environment could open up
alternative ways for employers to influence employees’ retirement
timing, counterbalancing the receding impact of direct employer
incentives.
More information about the survey findings is here.
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Ilya Figelman has joined Acadian Asset Management as senior vice president and senior member
of the research team. He will be based in the firm’s Boston headquarters and
focus on asset allocation, macro-economic research and predictive signals
across asset classes.
Figelman was a
founding member of the dynamic asset allocation group of AllianceBernstein (now
AB) in 2009, where he served as a quantitative analyst and portfolio manager. He
became research director of AB’s newly formed multi-asset solutions business in
2013. Previously, he held quantitative and analytical roles in other groups at
AB, General Motors Asset Management and American Express.
John Chisholm, chief investment officer of Acadian,
cites Figelman for his strong experience in multi-asset strategies and
quantitative background.
Figelman holds
a bachelor’s degree in systems science and engineering from Washington
University in St. Louis and a master’s degree in financial mathematics from New
York University. He has published several papers on equity momentum, options
strategies and risk budgeting.
Acadian Asset
Management invests on behalf of institutional investors such as pension funds,
endowments, governments and foundations, as well as individual investors. As of
December 31, the firm reports that it managed more than $66 billion in assets.
NEXT:
Alpha Pension Group takes on senior retirement plan consultant.
Jared Manville has joined Alpha Pension Group Inc. (APG) as a senior retirement plan
consultant.
Manville comes
from Marsh & McLennan Agency Retirement Services, where he was the managing
director for the national agency since 2010.
As a senior
consultant, Manville will assist in the management of Alpha Pension Group’s
clients, join the senior leadership team and contribute to new business
development.
Previously,
Manville worked as a retirement plan adviser at National Retirement Partners in
fiduciary oversight, plan design, investment analysis, the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA), Department of Labor (DOL) policy and legislative changes. Manville has
also worked for MFS Retirement Services and The Hartford as a retirement
relationship manager consulting with and guiding retirement plan sponsors.
Rich Cawthorne, president and founder of Alpha
Pension Group, cites Manville for his talent and passion, as well as “an
incredible amount of expertise.”
Manville holds
a bachelor’s degree in finance and political science from Hartwick College in
Albany, New York. He holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF)
designation as well as his FINRA Series 6, 63 and Life licenses. Manville is
also a member of the Retirement Advisor Council (RAC) and is the chairperson
for the Standards & Ethics Committee for Council, a nationally recognized
organization of retirement and financial advisers.
Alpha Pension,
in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a fiduciary adviser to ERISA retirement plans.
Zack Demers has
joined Pentegra Retirement Services
as regional director for qualified retirement plan sales. He will spearhead business
development efforts in New England.
An accomplished retirement services professional, Demers
brings deep knowledge about retirement services, after working in several areas
of the industry. Most recently, he was retirement relationship manager-advisory
channel for Alerus Retirement Solutions. Before that, he was a hybrid
wholesaler for Retirement Alliance Inc. and Fiduciary Consulting Group LLC.
Demers reports to Pete
Swisher, Pentegra’s senior vice president of national sales, who cites
Demers for his extensive knowledge of qualified retirement plan solutions,
strong relationships, and a solid track record of success.
Demers attended the University of New Hampshire and holds his
FINRA Series 6, 63 and 65 licenses, as well as the Accredited Investment
Fiduciary (AIF) designation. He holds life, accident insurance and health
insurance licenses for the state of New Hampshire.
NEXT: Fiduciary
Investment Advisors names two partners.
Jeffrey Capone has
been named a partner and senior consultant at Fiduciary Investment Advisors LLC. He most recently served as a senior
consultant since joining the firm in 2009. Capone provides strategic investment
consulting services to nonprofit and corporate sponsors, and has been advising
institutional clients for more than 15 years.
Vincent Smith has been named a partner and
senior consultant. He most recently served as a senior consultant since joining
the firm in 2011. Smith provides consulting services to plan sponsors
including fiduciary governance and oversight, investment policy statement
development and review, investment menu design, and investment monitoring and
selection. He has been advising institutional clients for more than 15 years.
NEXT:
USI Consulting Group adds retirement services relationship manager.
Cory Blankenship
has joined USI Consulting Group as an
associate vice president and relationship manager, retirement services. He is based
in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Blankenship has more than nine years of experience in nonprofit
management, tribal governance and tribal finance. He was previously treasury
director and director of finance and management with the Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians’ Office of Budget and Finance. He served there for five years,
acting as a voting member of the tribe’s investment committee with
responsibilities for two major endowment funds, a debt service fund and the
tribe’s minor trust fund. He was responsible for the daily financial operations
of the highly successful sovereign Indian Nation, including treasury
management, banking relationships, disbursements, member benefits, human
resources management, risk management, budgets and accounting.
Blankenship holds a bachelor’s degree in political science
from North Carolina State University and was awarded the Park Scholarship, the
university’s highest academic honor. He holds a master of public affairs degree
from Western Carolina University, and a Master of Jurisprudence Indian Law from
the University of Tulsa College of Law. Blankenship is active with the
Government Finance Officers Association and Native American Finance Officers
Association.
NEXT:
Cafaro Greenleaf names head of Indiana office.
Joseph D. Gastaldi has joined Cafaro Greenleaf to head the firm’s South Bend, Indiana, office.
Gastaldi, who
has over 27 years of financial service experience and more than 10 years in the
qualified plan space, will educate plan sponsors, helping protect them from
fiduciary liabilities and optimize plan design; while at the same time improving
participant outcomes.
Wayne Greenleaf, managing principal of CG, cites
Gastaldi for his breadth of experience and success in implementing retirement
plans.
Gastaldi holds
the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation and the Certified 401k
Professional (C(k)P) designation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from
Pace University. He also holds his FINRA Series 7, 63 and 66 licenses; as well
as licenses for life, health, disability and LTC insurance.
Cafaro
Greenleaf is an advisory firm for corporate and public retirement plans.
NEXT:
Milliman adds to health and group benefits team.
Michael Taggart has
joined the health and group benefits brokerage and consulting team of Southern Employee Benefit Practice of
Milliman.
Taggart will be responsible for business and product
development strategies, as well as managing client teams that deliver Milliman’s
consulting advice, actuarial services and proprietary tools.
Taggart has more than 30 years of senior-level experience
working with large corporations in health care benefits strategy, outsourced
benefits administration, and financial management of benefit programs. He has
gained national recognition as a thought leader on employer health care benefit
strategy and the impact of technology.
Before joining Milliman, Taggart was president of Empyrean
Benefit Solutions and co-founder/president of Synhrgy HR Technologies. His
previous roles include national practice leader of health care analytics for Aon
Hewitt; executive director of MethodistCare HMO; and regional practice leader, health
and benefits at Mercer.
Taggart holds a bachelor’s degree in finance with a major in actuarial
science from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Fellow of the Society
of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
NEXT:
Anne Stausboll stepping down from CalPERS.
Anne Stausboll, chief
executive officer for the California
Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), has said she will retire as
the head of the nation’s largest public pension fund on June 30.
Stausboll will leave the system after serving more than seven
years as its CEO, following her appointment in January 2009.
Stausboll assumed the helm of CalPERS during a volatile time
in the organization’s history. CalPERS had lost nearly 30% of its investment
assets following the recession and found itself embroiled in an ethics scandal
by former officials, including its former CEO.
Under her leadership, CalPERS has strengthened ethics,
transparency, and internal controls through governance and operational
improvements, including sweeping reforms and laws related to placement agents;
implementing a risk mitigation policy and an Asset Liability Management program
to ensure long-term sustainability of the pension system and Increasing
competition and reducing health care costs. The pension fund also saw its assets
grow, from $170 billion to more than $275 billion, during Stausboll’s tenure.
“CalPERS is a better organization because of Anne,” said Rob Feckner, president of the CalPERS
Board. “She led us through a difficult period, and we have emerged as a more
accountable, transparent, and smarter institution. We will miss her, and we
wish her the very best in her future endeavors."
In addition to her role as CEO, Stausboll served as CalPERS chief
investment operating officer since 2004 during a time she was twice tapped to
be interim chief investment officer. She also worked in the pension fund’s
legal office for six years as a staff attorney and deputy general counsel.
The CalPERS Board will conduct an immediate
search for her replacement.