A podcast from the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators. NAGDCA Executive Director Matt Petersen interviews guests (NAGDCA members, strategic partners and colleagues) to get their unique stories and perspectives on public sector defined contribution retirement industry trends and topics.
Understanding Collective Investment Trusts: What Public Sector Plans Should Know
In this Connect Conversation, NAGDCA Executive Director Matt Petersen speaks with Jason Levy, Deputy General Counsel and Head of Retirement Policy at Great Gray Trust Company, LLC, about collective investment trusts (CITs) and their growing role in defined contribution plans. Jason explains how CITs compare with mutual funds, why they can offer lower costs, how regulatory structures differ, and what plan sponsors should consider when evaluating CITs for their investment lineups. This materia...
15 Jul 2026
Exploring Auto Portability and the Future of Small Balance Accounts
NAGDCA Executive Director Matt Petersen sits down with Greg Long of Alight Solutions to discuss auto portability, a solution designed to help retirement savings follow participants as they change jobs and reduce leakage from small balance accounts.
14 May 2026
A Closer Look at the Gender Gap in Public Sector Retirement Saving
New research from NAGDCA and EBRI’s Public Retirement Research Lab (PRRL) takes a closer look at how men and women save for retirement in public sector defined contribution plans. Despite controlling for age, salary, and tenure, meaningful differences remain—from contribution rates to investment choices. In this conversation, Matt Petersen is joined by Samita Thephasit and Craig Copeland to unpack the findings, explore what’s driving these trends, and discuss what plan sponsors can do to bet...
17 Mar 2026
Mind the Confidence Gap: What the Latest Research Reveals About Retirement Readiness
In this Connect Conversation, Matt Petersen talks with Jeri Savage of MFS Investment Management about findings from the 2026 MFS DC Plan Sponsor Survey. Why are plan sponsors increasingly confident in retirement outcomes—while many participants, especially Gen X and Boomers, aren’t? Explore generational trends, competing financial priorities, and what drives higher confidence grades in the Workplace Retirement Readiness Indicator. Listen now for key insights for public sector DC plans.
27 Jan 2026
Driving Participation Without Auto-Enrollment: BART’s Success Story
In this NAGDCA Connect Conversation, Matt Petersen speaks with leaders from Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) about how intentional plan design and effective communication can drive strong retirement outcomes. Winta Berhane, Manager of Benefits at BART, and Marcus Wu, Partner at Pillsbury and outside counsel to BART’s defined contribution plans, discuss how BART strategically uses its 457(b) and 401(a) plans to support employee savings-resulting in a 92% participation rate without auto-enrollment...
27 Aug 2025
Measuring What Matters: Rethinking Plan Health in Public DC Plans
What does a “healthy” retirement plan actually look like in the public sector? In this episode of NAGDCA Conversations, Executive Director Matt Petersen talks with Nick Amaral, VP of Data, Analytics & Insights at Fidelity, about how plan sponsors can look beyond traditional benchmarks to evaluate performance, improve participant outcomes, and tailor their strategies to the unique structure of public plans. Nick shares how Fidelity’s Retirement Plan Health Score, financial wellness tools, ...
23 Jul 2025
Inflation & DC Plans
Inflation may have cooled for now, but uncertainty remains—and public sector plan sponsors are left wondering how to prepare. In this episode, NAGDCA’s Matt Petersen sits down with Kevin Kneafsey, Senior Investment Strategist, to discuss how inflation impacts DC plans and what sponsors can do to build more resilient investment menus. Learn why inflation is so hard to predict, why traditional “inflation-hedging” assets often fall short, and how portfolio design—not participant timing—is the k...
18 Jun 2025
Bringing Private Assets to Public DC Plans
Steve Ulian of Apollo explores the increasing accessibility of private equity, real assets, and private credit for public sector defined contribution plans in a discussion with Matt Petersen, highlighting the factors making these investments viable now; this is an interview.
20 May 2025
Expanding Access: Washington State’s Auto Enrollment Success Story
Malia Bonham and Seth Miller explain to Matt Petersen Washington State's successful strategy for expanding automatic enrollment to local governments, offering valuable insights into legislative tactics and stakeholder engagement in this interview.
29 Apr 2025
Managing Uncertainty in DC Plans
Matt Petersen interviews Josh Cohen about managing public sector DC plans, adapting to market volatility, and rethinking menus to support aging workforces.
18 Mar 2025
Understanding Stable Value in Public DC Plans
Mike Norman explains stable value funds in public sector retirement plans, including allocation trends and risk impact, in an interview with Matt Petersen.
18 Feb 2025
Understanding Asset Allocation in Public DC Plans
Justin Harvey of T. Rowe Price discusses asset allocation strategies for public sector defined contribution plans with host Matt Petersen, highlighting the impact of workforce demographics and risk assessment in plan design in this interview.
21 Jan 2025
Industry Trends and Solutions for Public Sector DC Plans
Matt Petersen interviews David Levine about industry trends impacting public sector defined contribution plans, including consolidation and new features.
20 Mar 2023
SECURE 2.0 - Catch-Up Provisions
Marilyn Collister and Craig Chaikin discuss SECURE 2.0's catch-up provisions and their effects on public sector retirement plans in an interview with Matt Petersen.
20 Mar 2023
SECURE 2.0 - Emergency Savings Provisions
Ned Taylor and Hutch Schaffer explore SECURE 2.0's emergency savings provisions and their effects on public sector plans in a discussion with Matt Petersen in this interview.
14 Dec 2022
State ESG Rules: What DC Plan Sponsors Need to Know
Industry experts examine the evolving landscape of state-level ESG rules and their implications for DC plan sponsors, offering clarity on navigating this complex regulatory environment.
1 Sept 2022
Recordkeeping RFP Process
Jacob Peacock informs Matt Petersen about the recordkeeping RFP process for public sector DC plans, covering the initial steps, potential challenges, and considerations for selecting a new provider in this interview.
2 Jun 2022
Auto Enrollment Legislation Guidance
Christina Elliott informs Matt Petersen about auto enrollment legislation, sharing her experience with the Ohio Deferred Compensation Plan and providing guidance for other plans considering similar state legislation in this interview.
30 Mar 2022
Retirement Income and Fiduciary Considerations
Michael Kreps and Matt Petersen explore retirement income options and fiduciary duties for public sector retirement plans, adapting strategies from the private sector in this interview.
Who has been a guest on NAGDCA Conversations
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Steve Ulian
Malia Bonham
Seth Miller
Josh Cohen
Mike Norman
Podcast Authority Score: 8 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
15
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
0
Contact NAGDCA Conversations
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about NAGDCA Conversations
Who hosts NAGDCA Conversations?
Matt Petersen host the show. Published by NAGDCA, Inc..
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes monthly, based on its RSS feed.
Does NAGDCA Conversations take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
Host of NAGDCA Conversations?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
