The World of Multiemployer Benefit Funds Podcast

The type of pension plan you have may play a role in happiness and retirement. According to a 2000 poll conducted by the Center for Retirement Research, retirees with a defined benefit plan were 5.6% happier than retirees with no pension while those with a defined contribution plan were only 4.6% happier. However, retirees with both a defined benefit and a defined contribution were 9% happier than those without a pension. David Blumenstein, President and CEO of Segal, returns to the podcast. David shares his thoughts on why union workers are more satisfied with their retirement plans and how following curiosity instead of passion can lead to personal happiness.
RESOURCES:
In Part 1, David, shares his family's amazing story of hope and perseverance during the Holocaust. Here is the link to that episode:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/412150/11529319-an-inspiring-holocaust-story-and-segal-s-mission.mp3?download=true
For more about David's Family Holocaust story, here are the links:

Regional Emmy Award and National Emmy Nominated Film - Finding Family

https://vimeo.com/544128302

David's father donated his trove of Holocaust material to the Cincinnati Holocaust and Humanities Center and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Here is a link to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum information.

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn520490

For the PDF book co-authored by David's father, which includes the 150 translated letters, David's grandmother wrote his grandfather during the war. Please email [email protected].

This book gives an actual perspective of daily life as a refugee and the desperate struggle of a mother to find a way out of Europe. It includes the broader story of what happened to Jews during WWII and what the world was aware of as the exterminations were being carried out.

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Contact:
[email protected]
www.sisupartnersllc.com

In today’s episode of the ‘The World of Multiemployer Benefit Funds’ (Where experts share their insights and stories on busting myths about the labor movement). Today the host Traci Dority-Shanklin (Managing Partner at Sisu Partners) talks with David Blumenstein (President, and CEO of Segal. Segal provides various consulting services including actuarial health benefits, human resources, investment, fiduciary insurance, communication, and technology.) David Blumenstein is a frequent speaker at benefits, conferences, and other industry forums, and a published author on health care and retirement benefits topics. In the episode, David tells us about his family’s historical Holocaust story, and how he emerged in this career.

For more about David's Family Holocaust story, here are the links:

Regional Emmy Award and National Emmy Nominated Film - Finding Family

https://vimeo.com/544128302

The Cincinnati Holocaust and Humanities Center also produced a shorter "slide show" about David's father's life.

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0a1efdd9ac764f9eaefb19eea7c007e1

David's father donated his trove of Holocaust material to a combination of the Cincinnati Holocaust and Humanities Center and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Here is a link to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum information.

https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn520490

For the PDF book co-authored by David's father, which includes the 150 translated letters, David's grandmother wrote his grandfather during the war. Please email [email protected].

This book gives an actual perspective of daily life as a refugee and the desperate struggle of a mother to find a way out of Europe. It includes the broader story of what happened to Jews during WWII and what the world was aware of as the exterminations were being carried out.

Support the show

Contact:
[email protected]
www.sisupartnersllc.com

You may know that union workers make more money than non-union workers, but did you know that 92% of union workers have a guaranteed pension compared to only 68% of non-union workers? Liz Shuler, the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, joins Traci on the podcast to discuss the future of defined benefit plans, the union brand, and busting her favorite myths about organized labor.

Some highlights from The Value of Union Membership with Liz Shuler include:

01:46 – Understanding the Value of Union Membership
06:29 – The Future of Defined Benefit Plans
09:30 – The Pension Model Evolves
13:38 – Union Myth-Busting
16:55 – The Digital Revolution and Union Innovation
22:06 – Racial Justice and a Blueprint for Change
https://aflcio.org

Support the show

Contact:
[email protected]
www.sisupartnersllc.com

The Central States Pension Fund (CSPF) serves 400,000 workers and retirees and is expected to become insolvent by 2025. Before the coronavirus pandemic, 130 plans were projected to run out of money over the next two decades, but now that number threatens to climb even higher. How did we get here? Who’s to blame? Will the new Democratic majority in both Houses of Congress act on much-needed pension reform? Taft-Hartley Consultant of the Year and partner at New England Pension Consultants, John Elliot, joins Traci on the podcast to help answer some of these pressing questions.
Some highlights from The Pension Crisis: How We Got Here include:

01:27 – From Weiss, Peck & Greer to NEPC
04:37 – The “Perfect Storm” of the 1990s and 2000s
07:52 – The Dreaded MPRA Cuts
09:43 – Why Pension Reform is Both a Democratic and a Republican Issue
11:17 – Variable Defined Benefit Plans
13:22 – The Mathematics of Hybrid Plans
18:43 – Dismantling the Fears of Hybrid Plans
20:47 – Union Membership and Millennials
29:38 – Macro Economy and the Price of Debt
If you'd like to learn more about New England Pension Consultants, visit their website: www.nepc.com

Support the show

Contact:
[email protected]
www.sisupartnersllc.com

Before the pandemic, 130 defined benefit plans were in danger of insolvency, but now that number has jumped to 200. Pension reform is needed more than ever, and the new Congress must act! Traci talks to retired Marco Consulting Chairman, Jack Marco, about pension reform, the new Congress, and some possible paths forward for these troubled plans.

Some highlights from Pension Reform and the New Congress include:

01:33 - A Way Forward for Pension Reform?
04:40 - Defend and Protect Worker Benefits – Not the PBGC!
07:41 – Government Bonds and the Butch-Lewis Act
10:42 – What About These Hybrid Plans?
13:33 – Testifying Before the House in 2010
15:39 – Democracy is a Verb!

Support the show

Contact:
[email protected]
www.sisupartnersllc.com