Public Sector Mid-Year Update

This session will review the economic circumstances impacting public sector health and retirement plans and provide insight into how to prepare and protect against challenges.

• Inflation and interest rates
• Jobs outlook
• Global economic disruption and supply chain
• Impact on investment decisions for plan sponsors and participants (DB and DC)

Does the key to effective member communications lie in the coordination of a strategic communications plan? This session will identify opportunities to improve member communications by closing gaps in coordination and messaging among stakeholders.

• Strategic communications plan
• Deliberate messaging for different stakeholder groups
• Budget alignment and resources
• Messaging techniques
• Measuring success

Public sector employees face unique mental health challenges given the frequent high risk and community-centered nature of the work. How can plans better address the needs of members? This session will discuss:

• Prevalence, treatment, and the health care landscape
• Substance use and suicide prevention
• Strategies for reducing stigma.

There is no shortage of products and services designed to improve well-being and prevent disease, but how do leaders of public sector plans sort through the options and set a strategy that will yield the greatest results for members? This session will discuss:

• Best practices in lifestyle medicine
• Plan design strategies to reduce health risks
• Meeting plan participants where they are

Sort through the political noise and identify the legislative and regulatory updates that will impact your plan and how to respond strategically. This session will cover mid-term takeaways and noteworthy state initiatives (state sponsored DC plan in CA), as well as:

• MHPAEA opt out
• Inflation Reduction Act
• Secure Act 2.0 2022

Providing a secure retirement is fundamental to the value proposition of public sector employment, but in today’s world that value proposition is being challenged. This session will examine opportunities to maintain and improve retiree benefits.

• Understanding and supporting retiree transitions to Medicare
• HELPS Act
• Evaluating post-employment benefits

Running benefit plans is already technical work, but now plan leaders must also have a working knowledge of cybersecurity. So let’s break down this work to increase stakeholder confidence ensuring plan information is private and secure.

• Fund office best practices
• Compliance and privacy issues
• What to expect from your plan professional
• What to do in case of a breach

This session will begin with an overview of the state of public sector pension plans, followed by an analysis of trends in returns and assumptions, investing philosophies, and recent regulations. This session will prepare leaders of public sector pension plans to lead an impactful investment strategy.

• Returns and assumptions in today’s environment.
• ESG
• DOL/PBGC reguslations
• What should trustees be doing?