2024: More Will Than Hill

A letter from Brendan Curran

Every evening, my wife and I read books to Bash (age 6) and Gabby (age 2) before bedtime. Recently, Bash and I read the book ‘I Wish You More’ by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, which offers several positive messages for kids — more give than take, more ups than downs — but one phrase really resonated with me: ‘more will than hill.’

This simple statement reflects my belief that we must climb many proverbial hills in life. Climbing these hills requires strength — but just as importantly — a strategy, and the willpower to get to your destination.

I think this also applies to an employee’s retirement journey. What are their goals for retirement? And how can we help to make those goals attainable — especially knowing there will be obstacles to overcome along the way?

Those questions drive our ambition at State Street Global Advisors: to help employees prepare for those proverbial hills, alongside employers, consultants, and policy makers, and to bring the collective strength of our solutions to bear on the issues that concern them most.

With that in mind, we have a lot to look forward to in 2024 as we set our goals for the new year:

• Retirement Income in DC plans: The shifting demographics of today’s worker and the increased prominence of Defined Contribution plans are driving demand for new retirement income solutions. We will continue to prioritize participation in the growing retirement income ecosystem through partnership. Building on the success of IncomeWise in a custom target date solution, we are pleased to share that Unum will be bolstering their retirement plan as the seed client in our commingled offering.

• Improved Access and Coverage: 41% of private-sector workers continue to lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.¹ State Street is proud to partner with states like California, Oregon, Illinois and Colorado that have launched auto-IRA programs to close this gap. Since the first plan went live in 2017, more than $1B has been accumulated in these programs.² Further, academic research highlights that these plans complement the private market by leading to the creation of more private DC plans.³ We will continue to work to expand access and coverage, and to provide low-cost investment options for these participants.
  
  
• Diversification Matters: 2023 was a great year for investors, following a dismal 2022. In good years, bad years, and everything in between, we remain steadfast that diversification is a key component to successful outcomes. We are committed to offering innovative solutions that address the needs of DC participants through a range of market conditions and across the ever-evolving investable universe.

I look forward to exercising our collective willpower in 2024 to summit new hills and help make retirement work for employees.

Thank you for your continued partnership,

Brendan Curran