American Benefits Podcast

On June 6, the Council released a document of some import: ten principles for building a national retirement policy. In an effort to forge such a policy, we have gathered the insights of our member companies that sponsor these retirement plans into this one document that summarizes our recommended approach. In this episode, Jason Hammersla talks with Lynn Dudley, the Council’s senior vice president, global retirement and compensation policy, about the provenance and purpose of these principles as well as the challenges that lay ahead.

Millennials now constitute the largest share of today’s workforce. Colin Seeberger, strategic campaigns advisor for Young Invincibles, sits down with Eunju Namkung to discuss Millennial wants and needs with regard to health benefits, retirement savings and other financial challenges. Young Invincibles is an advocacy organization founded in 2009 to represent the interests of 18- to 34-year-olds, including matters related to health care, education, jobs and financial security. Colin manages the organization’s health care campaign, as well as its public education and outreach efforts around higher education reform and the 2016 elections.

What are the unique disadvantages that women face saving for and during retirement? Cindy Hounsell, the president of Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), sits down with host Jason Hammersla to discuss these challenges, as well as what can be done to build a more secure retirement reality for women. Cindy Hounsell is the President of WISER, the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the opportunities for women to secure retirement income and to educate the public about the inequities that disadvantage women in retirement. Hounsell was appointed in 2011 to the ERISA Advisory Council, and in 2008 to the Advisory Panel on Medicare Education (APME) representing the field of retirement and financial planning. She is widely quoted and frequently invited to speak and teach as an expert in securing financial futures for women.

Katy Spangler, the American Benefits Council’s senior vice president, health policy, talks to Harvard Medical School Professor Michael Chernew, PhD, about health care costs, the promise of value-based insurance and what it all has to do with peanut butter and jelly.

In the second of a two-part conversation with former U.S. Representative Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), host Jason Hammersla asks about the process and politics behind comprehensive tax reform, contemporary retirement policy challenges, and the rise of state-based benefits legislation.

In the first of a two-part conversation with former U.S. Representative Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), host Jason Hammersla discusses the American Health Care Act, the stalled Republican measure to repeal and replace President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. We talk about the substance and the process behind the bill and what’s next for lawmakers as they consider further efforts to reform health policy or perhaps move on to comprehensive tax reform.

The American Benefits Council’s Jason Hammersla is joined by guest, Cam Marston, a noted author, columnist, blogger, and lecturer on generational change and its impact on the workplace. On this episode, Hammersla and Marston consider the future of work, human resource challenges and opportunities, and employee benefits. As a business strategist who advises on how generational characteristics and differences affect every aspect of business – including recruiting and retention – he offers insight on the application of generational trends and attributes to the design of health and retirement benefit plans.