Important Keynote Topics

Here is a preview of a couple of keynote presentations that will take place at the PSCA National Conference. Plan sponsors won't want to miss this important information:

Learning from Crisis Communications: Hoping it Never Happens Again. But, if it Does…

Presented by Christine Marcks, President, Prudential Retirement

During the unprecedented financial chaos of 2008-2009, plan sponsors and plan providers alike witnessed widespread participant panic, fear, and irrationality.
The news media did little, if anything, to calm the waters. Unfortunately, millions of American workers sold assets and cashed out as the market was plunging and then missed the market’s recovery in 2010. To address these issues, Prudential Retirement in the middle of 2008 formed a Crisis Communications Team, comprised of senior executives from across many areas of Prudential Financial overall. The team met daily at 8:00 a.m. for the next 18 months, and its goal was to learn what was happening with sponsors and participants on any given day and then to immediately develop and distribute communications designed to address the issues that were arising at that moment. The result was scores of specific communications to sponsors and participants, including several live, online video broadcasts, training for call-center representatives, and multiple new postings to sponsor and participant Web sites. Now, two years later, Prudential Retirement is enjoying its highest levels of sponsor retention in history, at 97%.

Evaluating America’s Retirement Readiness: How Are Turbulent Economic Times Affecting Participant Retirement Income?

Presented by Christopher Jones, Executive Vice President of Investment Management and Chief Investment Officer, Financial Engines, Inc.

Recent market volatility has had a significant impact on the amount of retirement income most 401(k) participants can expect in retirement. But, just how big is the gap between what participants need to retire and the amount of retirement income their 401(k) accounts are likely to generate? The National 401(k) Evaluation 2010, a new research report from Financial Engines, seeks to answer that important question and more. Join us for the official unveiling of the results of the report, in which we’ll provide an assessment of more than one million 401(k) portfolios and examine how the decisions participants are making with regard to savings, portfolio risk and diversification, and company stock holdings are affecting their 401(k) retirement income prospects. The presentation will also highlight which participants are taking full advantage of their 401(k)s and which participants are making damaging mistakes.