Over the last 25 years, the pendulum in the public pension industry has been swinging from Defined Benefit (DB) plans to Defined Contribution (DC) plans. Powerful advocates in the government and financial sectors have proclaimed that DC plans are the key to reforming a broken pension industry, regardless of the state of the economy. In a bear market, DB plans are unsustainable they say. They put state and local agencies on the path to inevitable failure. On the other hand, in a bull market, DC plans significantly outperform DB plans. Why wouldn’t a pension fund want to follow the DC model?

As we look toward the future, there are events and activities driving or amplifying change -- and there are reactions to those amplifiers that take the shape of emerging trends. In the video below, Sagitec's Chief Learning and Communications Officer, Stephanie Schrankler, examines 5 catalysts and 10 trends that are impacting pension educators and communicators.

Implementing a new pension administration system can be one of the most significant investments a retirement plan ever makes. Between consulting fees, software licensing, training, and support, there are a multitude of factors that will impact the price tag of a system replacement project. With retirement funds under increasing pressure to do more with less, it is absolutely essential that plan administrators make smart choices in IT investment. This means thoroughly understanding the goals of the project, communicating clearly the expectations of the new system, and being realistic about the constraints in your resources. For those considering IT modernization, take in mind that the following factors will impact the cost of your project. 

Like all stakeholders in today’s turbulent pension industry, educators are doing their best to navigate a perfect storm of challenges. With incoming waves of new retirees, sweeping legislative reforms, and large-scale IT replacement projects for a modern pension administration software solution with a web portal looming over pension funds, the need for effective education has never been greater. This is both good and bad news for the educator. On one hand, it means their skills have never been more necessary. On the other, it means the pressure to deliver is on.

Last week I stumbled across an interesting article on the web that helps us answer the question as to why IT projects fail. Citing long-standing research performed by the Standish Group, the article provides a list of reasons given during a survey of some 365 different organizations. These are listed in the table below:

Today’s pace of technological advancement is fast. Scary fast. For the IT professional driving the technological equivalent of a Ford Pinto, every road is an entrance to the freeway and one look in the mirror is enough to send shivers down the spine. Obsolescence has a lead foot. It's got the pedal to the metal (so to speak) and it's bearing down on your legacy system like a Mack truck with the high beams on.