When evaluating a service provider in the retirement plan space, it is important for your SMB to affiliate with one that is TRANSPARENT, CONSISTENT, and most of all HONEST. Unfortunately, not every provider (and their representatives) in the marketplace exhibits these crucial character traits... Most employees out there are familiar with retirement plans, such as the 401(k). That said, as a business Owner, Manager, or Employee, you might not understand exactly how a 401(k) works. Of course, the more you know about 401(k)s, the more you'll be able to take advantage of those 401(k) benefits. We are joined by Dr. Ronald Stair, Principal at Creative Plan Designs, a Third-Party Administrator, who specializes in translating the complicated world of retirement plans, to the point where the picture can be drawn with a crayon!
Tune in for this pragmatic conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by clicking here.
Steven introduces himself and the show, then he explains small and medium businesses. He teases the audience about what the show executes and how he runs things. Steven starts by introducing the topic; today’s topic of discussion is truly understanding the ‘Retirement Plan Rhetoric,’ Steven mentions when evaluating a service or a service provider in the retirement field it is really important as a small or medium business. Steven then introduces today's special guest, Dr. Ronald Stair, founder and CEO, Principal at Creative Plan Designs. Ronald has been a consulting actuary for over 40 years and has been an external source, who specializes in translating the complicated universe of retirement plans. Dr.Ronald has many nicknames in his fields, above all else he is just obsessed with retirement planning and is passionate about people. Dr.Ronald and his team break down the constructs of different retirement plans and reconstruct them in ways that makes it easier to understand, his team specializes in decoding the confusing language and difficult numbers to help people clearly understand what they are signing onto.
This segment begins with Dr. Ron starts by introducing his puppy to the audience, Lola a 2 year old shih tzu. The two begin by talking about how the pandemic has changed the reality of the retirement industry, Dr. Ronald jokes about how the pandemic has actually brought him more clients. Dr. Ronald explains how marketing and attracting consumers during the pandemic actually went easier than he expected. However he gives us insight on what the company had to do a year ago when they started seeing what economic trends were prominent as the Covid-19 increased; Dr.Ronald explains that his team had to get on the phone with all of his clients to explain they should freeze their retirement plans, and they did end up freezing all but four retirement plans. Working with over 280 retirement plans, Dr.Ronalds clients trust his judgement and Steven even mentions that with only four who didn't, its evident that his clients hold a lot of loyalty. According to Dr.Ronald, there is a social variation behind most economical movements and decisions such as retirement plans and even tax deductions. He also mentions that the government has four agencies that are heavily involved in these decisions and movements.
After four decades of practicing actuarial science Ronald has seen an array of intriguing as well concerning things; as of late Dr.Ronald has been noticing accounts that are post retirement healthcare plans which are attached to a benefit plan, where the regulations were last touched on 57 years ago and this only works for large corporations and cannot work on a smaller scale. After diving deeper Ronald begins to talk about his relationship with various vendors, and how he has different agreements with different vendors - out of which some may have monetary association within the relationship and some don’t. Steven then describes working in financial services as a “Jack of all trades but a Master of none” which is a figure of speech used in reference to a person who has dabbled in many skills, rather than gaining expertise by focusing on one - Steven explains how people in the industry would try very hard in dabbling in all types of field, however the field has developed and change and now it is not a field that one can dabble in anymore. Dr. Ronald agrees with Steven and says that he gets indecisive and unsure clients all the time, and he says to them “tell me what you are trying to do and I will tell you how to get there.”
Steven and Dr. Ronald get right into talking about the weekly take away of the show, and what is the important message that listeners should take seriously as they progress through their professional careers. Steven says that it is important to partner with some in the retirement industry who can properly decode messages, present truthful information and some who will get to know you as a person and strive to give you the tools to understand the retirement industry better. Dr. Ronald believes that these aspects are crucially important, according to him people don't know they have choices - they think all they have is a 401K plan. Steve diverts the conversation to talk about the weekly favorite movie and tv character. Steven queues ‘The Entrepreneurial Web’ and thanks Frank for being on the show. Steven introduces next week's topic and says goodbye.
