Wealth and Retirement Converge: Redefining Retirement Planning
The convergence of wealth and retirement is increasing. The workforce has undoubtedly changed – a result of the pandemic. Most workers have shifted towards working from home, and so have mindsets also begun to shift. Priorities have changed.
In fact, according to Aon’s 2021 Total Rewards Strategy Survey of Employers, 75% of employees said they want more choice and control over how benefit dollars are spent.
As wealth and retirement converge, the lines between work and leisure are blurring. Many wealthy retirees are opting to stay active in their businesses, investing in new ventures, or volunteering their time and resources for causes they believe in.
Of course, this redefined vision of retirement comes with its own set of challenges. For one, retirement planning becomes more complex when you’re not just planning for a life of leisure. Additionally, the responsibility of managing wealth and assets during retirement can be overwhelming for those who have never dealt with it before.
Upon the conclusion of The Plan Sponsor University (TPSU) Fiduciary Education Program held at The University of Loyola MD, Founder and CEO Fred Barstein, spoke with Adjunct Lecturer, Jeff Fountain, one of the leaders of RBJ Wealth Management Retirement Plan Division. Jeff explained the benefit of working as a specialist within a wealth management firm. Increasingly, clients are looking to become more financially aware, and RBJ is able to provide them with the best of both worlds – retirement and financial assistance.
Read the Full Transcript Here
Fred Barstein:
Greetings and welcome. My name is Fred Barstein. I am the CEO and founder of TPSU and 401kTV. Just completed a program here at Loyola University on the Baltimore area with our esteemed adjunct lecturer, Jeff Fountain. Welcome, Jeff.
Jeffery Fountain:
Thank you, Fred.
Fred Barstein:
Okay if we ask you a few questions?
Jeffery Fountain:
Absolutely.
Fred Barstein:
So why don’t you tell our audience a little bit about your firm and yourself?
Jeffery Fountain:
Yes. I’m within Baltimore here with RBJ Wealth Management, and my total focus is retirement plans. And my partner Jay Boynton is more on the compliance and law side. And I handle the investments and the reviews and getting education meetings together and scheduling those with our clients.
Fred Barstein:
And your overall firm, which also does wealth management, has about 16 people, you said?
Jeffery Fountain:
Yes.
Fred Barstein:
Okay. So we’re seeing more and more of the convergence of wealth and retirement at work. What do you see the benefits or how your clients benefit by you being a specialist, but also being part of a wealth management firm?
Jeffery Fountain:
Well, being the specialist, we get out and see our plans, and then we get to hear from the sponsors what they’re looking for. And in a lot of cases, it’s education. And people need help in their financial world. So we have access to advisors that are CFPs and attorneys that work in our office, that have the ability to talk to these people and build a either retirement plan or a financial plan.
Fred Barstein:
Right. So you get the both. You’re working with the plan sponsor, compliance fiduciary, but then your participants have access to the wealth management capabilities.
Jeffery Fountain:
Yes.
Fred Barstein:
Which is really the best of all worlds to be able to do that.
Jeffery Fountain:
Very fortunate.
Fred Barstein:
Final question, this was your first TPSU.
Jeffery Fountain:
Yes.
Fred Barstein:
I know it’s a lot of work. But why should a plan sponsor attend a TPSU program?
Jeffery Fountain:
I think it’s essential after going through this. And I’m old enough now where that’s the truth, that there’s a lot of sponsors out there that really don’t understand their plans and they don’t know what’s going in it on inside of the plan. But more especially, these groups have 200, 300, 1,000 participants, and they’re fielding questions all the time. And that takes a lot of time. But also, how their plan is designed, we’re talking today about auto enrollment, auto escalation, that can take a little bit of responsibility off of them, but also have means that they have an advisor that they can talk to. Because we found in some cases, they don’t see their advisor very often. They also don’t understand the fees in their plan. Most of them didn’t know what a 408(b)(2) was. So we can help them navigate through the plan. If there’s plan design changes, my partner Jay Boynton would work with them. If it’s on the advisory side in education, I’m going to work with them and refer anyone that would like to do a financial plan to a wealth manager.
Fred Barstein:
Great. Well, thank you for your time. Thank you for the lecture.
Jeffery Fountain:
Thank you.
Fred Barstein:
I know it does take a lot of time on that. And keep watching 401kTV. We look forward to seeing you at a TPSU program near you.
