In episode 31 of Revamping Retirement, Jennifer Doss and Scott Matheson talk with Greg Middleton, senior director of business development and sales enablement at CAPTRUST, to discuss his recent webinar on advisor requests for proposals (RFPs).
Middleton provides unique industry perspective on why challenging times often drive plan sponsors to assess providers and their services and the ways RFPs can help plan sponsors understand recent market trends, cybersecurity, selection process, and more.
In Minute with Mike, Mike Webb shares what plan sponsors need to know about health savings accounts (HSAs) and how they can help support successful retirement outcomes.
In episode 30 of Revamping Retirement, Jennifer Doss and Scott Matheson circle back on her predictions for 2021 and discuss where the retirement industry sits at the halfway mark of this year. Find out how plan sponsors are reacting to the increased interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing and regulatory ambiguity, what the industry expects for the SECURE Act 2.0, the benefits and pitfalls of technology, and more.
Later, CAPTRUST Chief Investment Officer Mike Vogelzang chimes in to regroup on the uniqueness of this past year’s market environment and provide his team’s latest thoughts on the markets and economy, including interest rates, inflation, and taxes.
In Minute with Mike, Mike Webb shares what plan sponsors need to know about required minimum distributions (RMDs) and why they can be such a pain point for plan participants and plan sponsors alike.
Episode 29
In episode 29 of Revamping Retirement, Jennifer Doss and Scott Matheson are joined by Jenny Eller, principal and chair of Groom Law Group’s Retirement Services Practice Group and Fiduciary Practice. Jenny shares her perspective on plan sponsor considerations for selecting a nondiscretionary or discretionary advisor, the reasons behind the trend toward 3(38) investment manager discretionary services, and how outsourcing investment responsibilities can impact—or even mitigate—risk in this litigious environment.
In Minute with Mike, Mike Webb discusses what plan sponsors need to know about in-plan annuities. Later, Jon Meyer, CAPTRUST’s chief technology officer, provides some actionable steps based upon the DOL’s recent guidance that retirement plan sponsors can take to protect themselves and their participants from cybersecurity threats.
Episode 29 at a Glance—Why More Committees Are Handing the Keys to a 3(38)
Hosts Jennifer Doss and Scott Matheson sit down with Groom Law Group powerhouse Jenny Eller to unpack the fast-growing shift from “co-pilot” 3(21) advisory relationships to full-discretion 3(38) investment-manager mandates—and what that means for fiduciary risk, litigation defense, and committee workload.
3(21) vs. 3(38): Same ERISA Standard, Different Job Descriptions
3(21) advice fiduciary – Do-it-with-me. Gives recommendations; committee retains final say and must probe, document, and ultimately decide.
3(38) investment manager – Do-it-for-me. Takes legal discretion over fund lineup, share-class changes, and manager hires/fires; committee’s duty shifts to prudent selection and monitoring of the 3(38).
Time & focus: Committees want to spend meetings on plan design, financial-wellness, and cybersecurity—not debating small-cap manager swaps.
Target-date dominance: Defaults now hold 60-70 % of assets; sponsors see value in delegating glide-path oversight to specialists.
Litigation heat: More than 100 ERISA fee suits filed last year, many against sub-$1 billion plans. Courts generally shield appointing fiduciaries from investment-loss claims if they can prove prudent 3(38) selection/monitoring.
“We follow you anyway.” If a committee always rubber-stamps its advisor’s recommendations, formal discretion may better reflect reality—and tighten documentation.
Avoiding Common 3(38) Pitfalls
Document the hand-off. RFP the role, vet experience, insurance, and conflicts; minutes should show why the manager was hired.
Let them drive. Second-guessing every trade erodes liability protection; monitor process, not individual picks.
Watch proprietary funds. Recent cases (e.g., Molina) show extra scrutiny when a 3(38) uses its own products; demand robust benchmarking and fee parity.
Confirm indemnification. Contracts should spell out the manager’s duty to defend and reimburse the plan for investment-related claims.
Quick Hits from the Episode’s Bonus Segments
Minute with Mike: In-plan annuities can be costly and lack inflation protection; they tend to fit “middle-income” participants who fear outliving savings—not low- or high-earners.
Tech Talk with Jon Meyer: Beyond DOL’s cybersecurity checklist, sponsors must dig into vendors’ fraud-prevention playbooks and participant-indemnification terms; annual SOC-2 reviews and breach-response drills are now table stakes.
Key Takeaways for Committees
Decide where your time is best spent, then match the fiduciary model—3(21) for collaborative control, 3(38) for true delegation.
If you outsource, monitor the manager’s process (staff, resources, methodology) rather than second-guessing individual fund moves.
Solidify cyber and fraud defenses the same way: vet vendors rigorously, document reviews, and keep participants engaged with their accounts.
Listen to the full discussion for practical questions to ask in an RFP, real-world litigation lessons, and a lighter-side peek at Eller’s own “pool-side” retirement vision.
Episode 28
In episode 28 of Revamping Retirement, Mike Webb passes the hosting torch to Jennifer Doss and Scott Matheson, who lead the employer-sponsored retirement plan practice at CAPTRUST. The two discuss CAPTRUST’s recent fee benchmarking webinar, including the future of fees, structuring fees to make retirement plans more attractive, and what tops the list of fee-related concern for plan sponsors.
Later, Mike Webb shares what plan sponsors need to know about pooled employer plans, or PEPs, in Minute with Mike. To close out the episode, Doss and Matheson are joined by lead investment strategist Sam Kirby to recap the markets, discuss what’s on the minds of plan sponsors, and talk about the retirement tools that can hedge against inflation risk.
Nevin Adams serves as a prolific author of ARA’s publications. Adams has gained notoriety for correcting many of the common retirement misconceptions perpetuated by the media—an area of increasing concern as social media recirculation ramps up. Tune in to hear more about retirement myths and other key issues, such as coverage availability, state run auto IRAs, and automatic enrollment.
With more than 35 years of experience practicing employee benefits law, Bob Toth is an expert to the experts—particularly in the areas of 403(b) plans and annuity products. Webb and Toth discuss the key to moving the needle on annuities, including how to effectively communicate the benefits of these products, the importance of pricing opaqueness, and how the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act provision allowing portability may help address participant concerns. Toth also shares some of the new products being developed in the marketplace and explains why beer is essential to solving the annuity puzzle.
Episode 25
With more than a decade worth of plan sponsors questions answered by industry experts, the column continues to be one of the most popular features on PLANSPONSOR’s website. Mike, David, and Rebecca share the history of the column, contributing factors to its success, and tips on how plan sponsors can have their questions featured.
Inside Episode 24—Keeping “Ask the Experts” a Must-Read After 12 Years
Host Mike Webb joins PLANSPONSOR managing editor Rebecca Moore and Groom Law Group principal David Levine for a behind-the-scenes look at one of the industry’s most enduring Q&A columns.
How It Began
In 2008 the IRS overhauled 403(b) regulations, and PLANSPONSOR’s then-editor suspected plan sponsors would be hungry for guidance.
Moore launched a niche newsletter—B-Lines Ask the Experts—with Levine and fellow attorney David Powell fielding reader questions about the new rules.
The feature quickly outgrew its 403(b) roots; today it addresses 401(k), 457, and DB questions and is surfaced site-wide on PLANSPONSOR.com.
Why It Still Resonates
Bread-and-butter practicality: Columns tackle evergreen issues (vesting errors, controlled-group testing, hardship distributions) that plague sponsors of every size.
Strict editorial filters: Questions must be broad enough to help many readers and devoid of personal or client-specific details—a guardrail that keeps content legally safe and universally useful.
A rotating expert bench: Beyond Levine and Webb, Groom attorneys Kim Boberg, David Powell, and Charles Phillips now share the weekly load, ensuring fresh perspectives and on-time answers.
Tips for Getting Your Question Featured
Think universally. Situations that could apply to thousands of plans—rather than one quirky fact pattern—rise to the top.
Skip the sensitive data. No participant names, Social Security numbers, or proprietary plan details.
Keep it concise. A well-framed paragraph outlining the issue and why it matters helps editors gauge fit quickly.
Fun Facts
The column’s archive spans more than 600 posts and still ranks among PLANSPONSOR’s highest-clicked items each week.
Popularity spawned a 403(b) e-book—Your 403(b) Questions Answered—compiling the most timeless entries for easy reference.
“Jump-the-shark” moment? Not yet—web traffic indicates readership is still climbing.
Whether you’re troubleshooting a nondiscrimination failure or clarifying SECURE 2.0 nuances, this episode explains how to leverage the Ask the Experts pipeline—and why its mix of legal rigor and plain-English exposition keeps plan sponsors coming back.
Christine shares the backstory of her blog, The DB-ification Trend and the movement toward increased employer control versus employee discretion of defined contribution retirement plans to better provide a sustainable source of income during retirement, along with the one provision she would change with a magic retirement wand, if she could.
Sharing the current funding concerns and potential future reforms for Social Security, Mary Beth provides tips on when to claim and when to delay Social Security benefits in order to maximize value—particularly in the current low-interest rate environment. She also highlights the specific need for women to carefully consider their Social Security claiming strategy to ensure sufficient retirement income.
Episode 22