401(k) Specialist Podcast

Hosted by 401(k) Specialist Magazine

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Episodes

142

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

401(k) Specialist’s new biweekly podcast series “The 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast” provides retirement and 401(k) advisors with tips and strategies to optimize their business and outperform for their clients. High-profile pundits and personalities engage in smart discussions of relevant topics to educate, inform and entertain listeners.

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60 recent

August 10, 2026Episode 14224 min

Rethinking Active Management for Today’s 401(k) Plans with MFS’ Jeri Savage

As market volatility, concentration risk and evolving retirement income needs reshape the defined contribution landscape, plan sponsors are taking a fresh look at the role of active management in participant portfolios. That is the subject of 401(k) Specialist’s latest “ Deep Dive ,” and it’s what we’re talking about with MFS Investment Management Lead Retirement Strategist Jeri Savage in this episode of the 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast . We’ll discuss why active management is back in the conversation, where it can add the most value alongside passive strategies, and how fiduciaries should think about portfolio construction as retirement plans continue to evolve. We’ll also touch on retirement income solutions, the potential impact of private market investments, and what the typical 401(k) investment lineup might look like in 5 years. SEE ALSO: 401(k) Specialist Deep Dive: Active Management in Uncertain Markets, Part 1 and Part 2

July 6, 2026Episode 14115 min

Sheri Fitts: Personal Branding a Focus at 2026 SWAY | LIVE

SWAY | LIVE, the retirement industry’s most unique annual conference—and the only one focused on helping retirement industry professionals build their personal brand—is coming to Boulder, Colorado Aug. 2-4. Event founder and organizer Sheri Fitts, the speaker, creator and catalyst at Sheri Fitts & Co., returns to the 401(k) Specialist Pod(k)ast to tell us what makes the event so unique, and explain the value behind maintaining a strong personal brand. She also talks about the importance of developing storytelling skills, and why it’s such a key skill to have in the retirement industry. Professionals interested in attending SWAY | LIVE can register here . The event’s registration deadline is Friday, July 24. SEE ALSO: • Sheri Fitts’ SWAY | LIVE Brings Personal Branding to Boulder in Early August

June 24, 2026Episode 14014 min

Social Security's Reckoning: Dr. Jason Fichtner Explains What the New Trustees Report Means for 401(k) Savers

The recently released 2026 Social Security Trustees Report once again shortened the timeline for when the trust funds paying out benefits to more than 75 million Americans will become insolvent unless lawmakers finally step in and do something about it. To find out what the new report really means for workplace retirement plan participants, 401(k) Specialist Editor-in-Chief Brian Anderson talks with Jason Fichtner, Ph.D. , executive director of the LIMRA Retirement Income Institute and a former acting deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Fichtner talks us through the underlying issues regarding the program’s looming insolvency, how it impacts what 401(k) participants need to be thinking about along with the increasing need for in-plan guaranteed income solutions, and concludes with thoughts about possible SECURE 3.0 retirement legislation in the not-too-distant future. SEE ALSO: • 2026 Social Security Trustees Report Moves Insolvency to 2032

June 3, 2026Episode 13911 min

Attacking the Startup Plan Tax Credit Claiming Problem with Will Hackler

When retirement policymakers sought to incentivize small businesses to begin offering retirement plans in an effort to help close the coverage gap, they did so in part by creating greatly expanded federal tax credits that would offset their cost in providing those plans. But research has found fewer than 6% of eligible employers are properly claiming the tax credit—and that’s a problem that doesn’t sit well with retirement plan advisor Will Hackler, AIF , the “401(k) Fix-It Guy” who is the Managing Partner at Integrated Pension Services. Hackler says there’s a real awareness problem regarding the tax credit, and that advisors need to step in to make sure eligible firms (and their tax-filing CPAs) know about and take advantage of a program intended specifically for them. In this episode, Hackler explains the tax credit, the problem and potential solutions.

May 21, 2026Episode 13816 min

Exploring the Target Date Landscape with Mercer’s Preet Prashar

As part of 401(k) Specialist ’s Q2 Deep Dive on target-date funds, Editor-in-Chief Brian Anderson sits down with Mercer Director of Defined Contribution Strategic Research Teams Preet Prashar to discuss the rapidly evolving TDF landscape—from market concentration and glidepath design to passive investing, fiduciary concerns, lifetime income solutions, and private assets. Drawing from Mercer’s recent white paper, “ Target Date Landscape: The Evolution of Target Date Strategies and Future Considerations ,” Prashar shares key insights plan sponsors and advisors should consider as target-date funds continue to dominate the defined contribution marketplace. SEE ALSO: • $4.8 Trillion and Growing: Why Traditional TDFs are Still Key to 401(k) Success • Executive Q&A: Refining Accumulation Strategies Through TDFs with MFS’ Jeri Savage

May 4, 2026Episode 13710 min

The 401k Girls Are Making Financial Planning Actually Fun

In this episode, Jessica Porter and Hayley Porter, financial planners at BPG Wealth Management, speak to 401(k) Specialist about the 401(k) Girls, a financial education platform aiming to make financial wellness accessible and exciting for professionals and their clients. Jessica and Hayley, who were featured in 401(k) Specialist ’s Profiles in Participant Outcomes in 2025 , started the 401k Girls in January last year after noticing a need to make retirement and financial planning more approachable to clients online. The duo—who are not sisters—use social media outlets like LinkedIn and Instagram to provide quick tips and insights on financial savings. There’s #FactorFictionFriday, where the 401k Girls will poll scrollers on common financial misconceptions at the end of the week, or “Porter’s Pennies,” where the two offer simple tips that can strengthen planning. Jessica and Hayley also speak more about engaging younger workers in financial planning , and what the financial services industry has left to learn about meeting women clients where they’re at.

April 20, 2026Episode 13613 min

How GigMatch Creates Retirement Hope: George Fraser

Advisor Insights Winning the Finalist Presentation: How offering a "Hope-based" engagement model like GigMatch differentiates you from advisors stuck in "Fear-based" messaging Reducing Financial Stress for Sponsors: Leveraging the $5/month subscription model as a low-cost, high-impact benefit recommendation for advisors. The "Lifetime Income" Complement: How to use the gig economy to supplement Social Security and 401(k) distributions when the math doesn't quite add up. Strategic Partnerships: Insights into the Tom Kmak (Fiduciary Decisions) algorithm and how institutional-grade data is powering these participant matches. In this episode, industry innovator George Fraser introduces GigMatch , a B2B subscription-based platform that 401(k) advisors can offer to plan sponsors to help participants close the retirement savings gap. By replacing 'fear-based' retirement messaging with 'hope-based' supplemental income matching, advisors can differentiate their practice, reduce financial stress, and provide a tangible roadmap for the 90% of participants who have not saved enough to retire comfortably. George Fraser , who was named 401(k) Specialist’s first-ever “ Top Advisor by Participant Outcomes ” in 2017, is starting a new career chapter with the introduction of GigMatch, an innovative app designed to be a game-changer for the vast majority of Americans who deal with financial stress on a daily basis. GigMatch , making its official debut May 1, is being unveiled on the exhibit hall floor at the NAPA 401(k) Summit in Tampa. On the podcast, Fraser explains how GigMatch, developed with his partner Tom Kmak, will provide hope to people who think they haven’t saved for retirement through individually tailored opportunities to enhance income and lifestyle—both today and in retirement.

April 6, 2026Episode 13511 min

What Participants Really Think with Invesco’s Greg Jenkins

There’s a lot of increased attention about adding private markets investments to 401(k) plans in the wake of President Trump’s 2025 Executive Order on alternatives, and participants are starting to take notice. Invesco’s recent DC Participant Pulse Survey had some very interesting findings about participant perceptions of private markets, which we explore in this episode with Greg Jenkins, Managing Director, DC Solutions at Invesco. Greg shares insights about participant familiarity with private markets, which types are most interested, and even which words and phrases resonate best with participants. Check out the research at this link: 2026 DC Pulse Survey: Exploring participant views on AI and private markets

March 23, 2026Episode 13419 min

Modernizing Retirement Plan Infrastructure with Congruent Solutions’ Mahesh Natarajan

Much of the technology infrastructure that powers the workplace retirement plan industry could use an update to improve on old legacy systems to better serve the needs of today’s 401(k) participants. To learn more about how and why it needs to evolve, we talk with techno-business leader Mahesh Natarajan, Chief Revenue Officer at Congruent Solutions , which has been a specialist technology solutions and outsourced plan administration provider to the retirement industry since 2004. We’ll talk about how he sees value in a modular approach to innovation instead of a full technology overhaul, the concept of “invisible AI,” how recordkeepers need to evolve into “retirement orchestrators,” and more.

March 9, 2026Episode 13325 min

How Not to Get Sued: Fred Reish on Fiduciary Risk in 2026

In this special edition of the 401(k) Specialist Podcast —part of our Deep Dive series on “How Not to Get Sued”—Editor-in-Chief Brian Anderson sits down with legendary ERISA attorney Fred Reish to examine how fiduciary risk is evolving in today’s regulatory and litigation environment. Now serving as Director of Fiduciary and ERISA Practice at Prime Capital Retirement , Reish shares insights on the shifting landscape of ERISA litigation, emerging concerns around private assets in 401(k) plans, and the Department of Labor’s evolving posture under the second Trump administration. The conversation also explores artificial intelligence, pooled employer plans, in-plan lifetime income solutions, and what fiduciaries should be watching next for fiduciary risk. For advisors and plan sponsors focused on protecting participants—and protecting themselves—this is essential listening.