Best of 2020: Opening Remarks and Structuring Your Plan for Different Participant Needs

Steve Vernon, F.S.A., is president of Rest-of-Life Communications and a research scholar for the Stanford Center on Longevity. In both roles, Steve is active with research, writing, and speaking on the most important issues facing older workers and retirees, including finances, health, and lifestyle. Previously, he worked for over 35 years as a consulting actuary, helping Fortune 1000 companies design, manage and communicate their retirement programs.
Steve has published over 1,000 posts on retirement topics for CBS MoneyWatch and Forbes.com. His latest book, published in July 2020, focuses on generating lifetime retirement income:
-Don’t Go Broke in Retirement! A Simple Plan to Build Lifetime Retirement Income.

His previously published books include:

– Retirement Game-Changers: Strategies for a Healthy, Financially Secure, and Fulfilling Long Life
– Money for Life: Turn Your IRA and 401(k) Into a Lifetime Retirement Paycheck

– Recession-Proof Your Retirement Years: Simple Retirement Planning Strategies That Work Through Thick or Thin

– The Quest: For Long Life, Health and Prosperity (a DVD/workbook package)

– Live Long & Prosper! Invest in Your Happiness, Health and Wealth for Retirement and Beyond

– Don’t Work Forever! Simple Steps Baby Boomers Must Take To Ever Retire

Steve is an independent researcher and writer. He bases his insights and strategies on research regarding both the economic and behavioral economics aspects of retirement decision-making.
Steve is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of California, Irvine, with a double major in mathematics and social science. He splits his time between the Bay Area and Ventura County in Southern California.

Scott Thoma began his career with Edward Jones in May 2000 and is responsible for the Strategy team in Research, which includes Investment Strategy and Client Needs Research. Thoma focuses on developing the firm’s advice and guidance based on clients’ needs, including the guidance for clients preparing for and living in retirement. He is also co-chair of the firm’s Investment Policy Committee. From 2008 to 2011, Thoma served as director of investment advice for the firm’s advisory programs. Prior to that, he served as the lead medical device analyst in Research for more than six years and as a market strategist, focusing on issues for investors in retirement.

Thoma was named a limited partner with the firm in 2006 and a principal in 2012. Thoma graduated summa cum laude from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with an emphasis in finance and economics. He earned a master’s degree in economics and finance from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 2000. Thoma has served as an instructor of corporate finance and banking/risk management at SIUE. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2003 and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of St. Louis. He earned his CFP® designation in 2016. Thoma has been a guest on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street, PBS’ Nightly Business Report and Bloomberg and has been quoted in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s and the Boston Globe. He was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list in 2015. Scott is regularly featured in the media and is a contributor to Edward Jones Market Insights.

Through its corporate retirement plan clients, the D’Aiutolo, Malcolm & Associates Investment Consulting Group represents over $3 Billion of plan assets and 40,000 plan participants across several states, including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, Delaware and Ohio. Paul is the lead fiduciary consultant for the team’s retirement plan consulting clients, assisting companies in navigating complex choices and contractually providing fiduciary services. These include everything from fiduciary committee training to drafting and monitoring Investment Policy Statements (IPS), to overseeing the plan’s investments, to plan trend consulting and employee education services. Paul and his team have a passion for getting participants engaged and on track for retirement, starting with a well-designed plan that results in high levels of participation and savings rates. Paul was raised in a blue-collar family with strong beliefs in personal accountability and work ethics. He saw people in his family devote their lives to their employers, but fail to retire with dignity because they did not have the resources to prepare themselves well. Throughout his career, Paul encountered similar experiences too frequently: loyal, long-term employees unable to retire. These experiences have formed the foundation of the employee education services the D’Aiutolo Investment Consulting Group provides to plan participants. The team has taken on a personal mission to work tirelessly, exhausting every effort to enable participants to address their retirement planning confidently. Paul has an Honors Associates degree in Accounting from Monroe Community College and a B.S. in Accounting from St. John Fisher College. He is a Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS®), an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) a Certified Behavioral Financial Analyst (CBFA®) and a Certified Health Savings Advisor (CHSA®).From 2017 through 2018, Paul served as the President of the National Asso ciation of Plan Advisors (NAPA), a subsidiary of the American Retirement Association, a $20 million Washington, D.C. based association. He is a past Board member for the American Retirement Association, which has allowed him to personally advocate for retirement security in America by spending time in Washington and meeting first hand with members of Congress and representatives from the IRS and Department of Labor. A former college athlete, Paul has coached house and travel soccer and Pop Warner football for nearly ten years. He also volunteers for Heritage Christian Services. Paul enjoys traveling and all outdoor activities, as well as word puzzles, including crosswords, Sudoku and word jumbles. He and his wife have raised three great children, Christopher (25), Alex (22) and Emma (18). As a recent empty nester, he awaits life’s next adventure.