Mass Mutual enlists Sarah Bernard, star of daytime talk TV, to help connect with retirement plan savers
ENFIELD, Conn. – Sarah Bernard, pop culture diva, is omnipresent on talk show TV. There is nothing she is afraid to tackle, from Hugh Grant’s tabloid troubles to busting beauty myths with Hoda and Kourtney on the Today Show.
Now, Ms. Bernard is taking on perhaps her greatest challenge: moderating a panel of financial experts who answer questions about retirement savings from participants in MassMutual’s 401(k) and other retirement savings plans.
It’s part of a new program, MassMutual RetireSMARTFAQSM, where retirement plan savers can submit questions about retirement planning topics during educational webinars or online at RetireSMARTFAQ.com. The questions are then answered by personal finance and other financial experts.
Real People, Real Problems
“Hosting MassMutual’s RetireSMARTFAQ program is a terrific opportunity to help real people solve real problems about preparing for retirement,” Ms. Bernard said. “I’m not a retirement planning expert, so I can really empathize with folks who are trying to learn what the best approach is.”
MassMutual annually hosts a series of educational webinars on retirement planning that typically attract thousands of retirement plan participants. One in five webinar attendees on average increase their contributions to their retirement savings plan and scores ask questions about retirement savings and planning, according to MassMutual’s 2014 retirement plan participant surveys.1
“Whenever we sponsor a webinar, we always get more questions than we can handle in the 60-minute format,” explained Heather Smiley, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, MassMutual Retirement Services. “MassMutual RetireSMARTFAQ is an extension of our educational programming and is designed to help retirement plan participants get information by connecting them with acknowledged experts. We think Sarah will be a real asset in helping make our program engaging, fun and informative.”
Got Questions?
MassMutual RetireSMARTFAQ is a simple online tool that allows participants to submit questions both during webinars or at any other time. The questions are answered by a panel of financial experts:
- Farnoosh Torabi: Best-selling author, personal finance journalist and Millennial money coach;
- Dr. Jerry Webman, Ph.D., CFA: Chief Economist for Oppenheimer Funds;
- Elisabeth Leamy: TV journalist, author, and consumer advocate; and
- Gary Schatsky: Personal finance journalist, attorney and financial advisor.
As part of the launch of this new tool, participants had the opportunity to get answers during the June 24 video broadcast and webinar, “Got Questions?” Answers were provided during the webinar as time permitted and then after the webinar by email. Anyone can watch a recording of the webinar at www.retiresmartseminars.com.
The first webinar was the first of several. Ms. Bernard says she is up to the task. “I relish the opportunity to dig into retirement planning issues,” Ms. Bernard said. “I have so much respect for Farnoosh, Jerry, Elisabeth and Gary, and their ability to help people navigate the world of personal finance. I’m hoping to learn some new things myself and have fun along the way.”
For more information about MassMutual’s Retirement Services Division, please contact your financial professional or call MassMutual at 1-800-874-2502, option 4.
