PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2018 - 29

(FROM LEFT) Top Row:
Alison Cooke Mintzer of
PLANSPONSOR; an intriguing
session; Thomas Barberesi and
Christopher Maarberg, both of
MetLife. Second row: Attendee
asks a question; John Manganaro
of PLANSPONSOR, Leah Hill
of Shepherd Financial and Paul
Sommerstad of Blue Prairie
Group; Joe Ready of Wells Fargo
Bank. Third row: Jamie Greenleaf
of Cafaro Greenleaf; Nicholas
Epley of the University of Chicago
gives the keynote address; plan
sponsor Roger Paschke (at right)
of Hearst Corp. talks shop. Fourth
row: Connecting over cocktails;
Cheryl Braun of United Hardware
Distributing Co., a Plan Sponsor
of the Year.
PLANSPONSOR
NATIONAL
CONFERENCE 2018
H
ow to maximize retirement plan outcomes and manage the fiduciary liabilities
confronting plan sponsors today were part of the abundance of content presented at
the 2018 PLANSPONSOR National Conference (PSNC), held in June in Washington,
D.C. The event began with a lively, sometimes humorous talk by Nicholas Epley, professor of
behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, about why people
think or act as they do-and the surprising mistakes we routinely make in trying to understand
each other. These principles, from the area he calls " mind-reading, " inform our relationships
with plan participants, colleagues and the others in our lives.
Lori Lucas, president and CEO, Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), shared
statistics from both quantitative and qualitative data that show how retirees really approach
drawing down their assets. The results challenged many commonly held assumptions
about spending-and living-in retirement.
Information such as this brings plan sponsors, advisers and industry providers
to PSNC annually; 455 attended this year. With thanks to the industry experts who
discussed trends in the fundamentals of managing retirement plans, we also applaud our
presenters-some being Plan Sponsors of the Year, sponsors of Best in Class 401(k) Plans,
Retirement Plan Advisers of the Year and Top 100 Advisers-for their willingness to share
their challenges so others could benefit. After all, each plan has its own intricacies, but the
fundamentals of retirement plans in general are very similar.
On the pages that follow, we excerpt some of the event's highlights, but these are just
a fraction of what speakers shared and attendees learned. If you missed the conference, we
have posted articles, a photo gallery and audio recordings of the sessions on plansponsor
.com. Just search for PSNC 2018. -PS
Photography by Matt Kalinowski / Art by Jenice Kim
PLANSPONSOR.com August-September 2018 29

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PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2018