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‘If I had a magic wand’: The CEO of retirement giant Ascensus explains how to not work forever

Jun 1, 2023, 8:41am EDT

Americans are trillions of dollars behind where they need to be. The CEO of one of the largest retirement plan providers explains his fix.

Bradley Saacks said:

Hey David! Bradley here — what’s the view from your office set-up look like today?

David Musto said:

Gorgeous day in NYC office!

Bradley Saacks said:

So, I need you to be blunt with me: Will I ever retire?

David Musto said:

Most certainly….when you are good and ready! Question back to you my friend…are you saving early and often?

Bradley Saacks said:

I feel like I’ve done a decent job of putting money into the various 401k plans at my different jobs, including Semafor, but every headline I see about about how much I’ll need to live comfortably in 40 years is pretty depressing.

Bradley Saacks said:

Is there something workers are missing when it comes to retirement saving?

David Musto said:

You have a great head start relative to many in that you are taking advantage of your workplace retirement plan. Over 25% of American workers don’t have any retirement savings….translating to over 55 million Americans without a workplace plan.

David Musto said:

We need young people to start saving early and consistently. The thing to know is that it is hard to make it all up in the latter part of a career. Even modest savings early on will grow and sustain a secure retirement.

Bradley Saacks said:

If you were named retirement czar tomorrow with no limits on your powers, what would be the first thing you’d do to make retirement a reality for more Americans?

Bradley Saacks said:

Bring back corporate pensions? Mandatory matches from companies?

David Musto said:

The defined contribution system is working for those that are engaged and benefit from consistent savings over time. Automatic enrollment and escalation having big impact. If I had a magic wand, my first step would be to make workplace savings plans a reality for every business. Alongside, we need to address debt and prioritization of savings needs.

David Musto said:

Too few people benefit from financial advice. The democratization of financial advice is another key area of focus.

Bradley Saacks said:

In short, make it a focus from day 1 on the job instead of year 5.

David Musto said:

Yes….and help Americans deal with the other financial stresses in their lives so they can direct more to retirement, education, and health savings.

David Musto said:

We are taking advantage of behavioral finance principles, digital experience, and data analytics to help on this front. Technology can play a helpful role in the effort to reach the masses.

Bradley Saacks said:

Appreciate the time David, I think I might go look at my 401k contribution rate now…

David Musto said:

Onward and upward!