PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2021 - 2

INSIGHTS
PUBLISHER: Alison Cooke Mintzer
alison.mintzer@issmediasolutions.com
Agenda 2021
A
s is the norm with moving from one year to the next, the transition time,
from an editorial perspective, involves reflection and planning. At ISS
Media and PLANSPONSOR, we examine what we did over the past 12
months and make " resolutions " for the new year. As you might guess, our resolutions
often pertain to improving our content for our audience-and this year,
despite COVID-19, is no exception.
For 2021, we've made some changes to further help support you in your roles
as plan sponsors and plan fiduciaries. For one, we're continuing our monthly editorial
webinars, the PLANSPONSOR Plan Progress series. The third Thursday of
every month, our editors and industry experts will dive into pressing and pertinent
topics relating to plan design, investing, defined benefit (DB) plan management,
litigation and more.
On our website this year, you will also find monthly special reports-often
focusing on the research you can only find at PLANSPONSOR, covering everything
from defined contribution (DC) and DB plans, to nonqualified deferred compensation
(NQDC) and 403(b) plans, along with new research into health savings
accounts (HSAs) and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
We've expanded our conference lineup for 2021 as well and will host a special
one-day " What's on the Minds of Plan Sponsors " session, March 3. This will highlight
panel discussions with previous winners of a Plan Sponsor of the Year award
talking about their challenges. Unique to this event is that only plan sponsors may
attend, providing a forum for you to engage with peers. While we would have loved to
host a live PLANSPONSOR National Conference (PSNC) this year; sadly, that's not in
the cards. But we are planning a robust online conference for June 7 through 10! We'll
also host the annual HSA Conference in April and an HSA Update in October-both
online-to help those of you considering or offering such plans.
Changes to the magazine content are in store, as well. Specifically, the issues
this year are thematic, with a host of stories and research centered on one topic each
two months. The goal is to create issues that you can keep around as a resource-
that are as valuable months from now as they were when delivered. We start the
year focusing on administration and governance-on the following pages, you'll
read insightful articles about litigation, fiduciary outsourcing, provider evaluation
and investment policy statements (IPSs), etc.
The ongoing administration of a plan is detailed and requires changes as
laws are passed and regulations enacted. We saw last year how much interest there
was in deciphering the implementation of the Setting Every Community Up for
Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and
Economic Security (CARES) Act; we continue our reporting to make sense of all
relevant aspects of the 5,593-page Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021-not to
mention the many proposals and regulations put out by the Department of Labor
(DOL). There's also been heightened anxiety as lawsuits have proliferated against
plan sponsors-something three litigators discuss in our cover story.
In your role as a fiduciary, plan stewardship is your responsibility, regardless
of what's happening in the world around you. At PLANSPONSOR, we want
to ensure that we're a primary resource as you navigate these sometimes rough
seas. As always, we look forward to hearing from you about how we can help-let
us know! -Alison Cooke Mintzer, Publisher
2 PLANSPONSOR.COM December 2020 - January 2021
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: SooJin Buzelli
soojin.buzelli@issmediasolutions.com
MANAGING EDITOR: Judy Faust Hartnett
judy.fausthartnett@issmediasolutions.com
MANAGING EDITOR, PLANSPONSOR.com:
Rebecca Moore
rebecca.moore@issmediasolutions.com
EDITORIAL STAFF: Lee Barney, John Manganaro,
Michele Theodore, Amanda Umpierrez,
Karen Wittwer
CONTRIBUTORS: John Keefe, Judy Ward
SURVEYS AND RESEARCH: Brian O'Keefe;
Angela Marinakis, Jackie Scott
DESIGN AND PRODUCTION: Donna Bien-Aimé,
Alanna Jacobs, Joy Liu, Linda Liu, Cherese Rambaldi
ART CONTRIBUTORS: Melinda Beck,
Chris Buzelli (cover), Joe Ciardiello,
Mar Hernández, Arina Shabanova,
Ollie Silvester, Antonio Uve, Ellen Weinstein
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR: Robert Reif
ADVERTISING SALES: Katie Bacon; Chris Janos,
Meighan McGowan, Bill Murray
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SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER: Anthony Groccia
REPRINTS: Michelle Judkins
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CONFERENCES: Carol Popkins; Katie Campbell,
Rebecca Fahey, Lucille Velander
ACCOUNTING OPERATIONS: Ruth Fissaha,
Ricky Kostik
TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS: Darrell Cheng,
Ray Lucibello, Bhakti Patel, Jigar Patel,
Dexter Reaves
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PLANSPONSOR - December/January 2021

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