PLANADVISER: Tell us about your role at your firm and how you contribute to its growth and progress.
Matheson: I consult with a couple dozen employer sponsor retirement plans ranging in size from a few employees to 2,500. I collaborate with intellicents colleagues from around the country to help our clients’ employees make their retirement dreams real and achieve their permanent vacation. We help our clients effectively manage their duties regarding funds, fees and fiduciary governance while empowering their employees to prepare for successful retirement outcomes through education and advice opportunities. My background as a Certified Financial Planner enables me to support participants manage today’s money so they can reach tomorrow’s financial and personal goals.
PLANADVISER: What steps do you think will help improve the retirement industry and participant outcomes in the future (particularly ways in which your firm can help with that progress)?
Matheson: The typical worker in the United States has the majority of their financial needs taken care of at work by their employer’s compensation and benefits programs, including income, retirement plan, health and other insurances. These elections become financial planning decisions that can be complex and interrelated but are often treated in a vacuum. Intellicents is investing in financial planning as an employee benefit that helps employees get their current financial picture in order so they can reach their future goals. Intellicents has developed intellisteps “Foundational Financial Plans” to provide recommended guidelines regarding emergency savings, responsible spending, life insurance and more; interested employees can then take the next step to build a comprehensive financial plan with one of our financial planners. Many people think they need to have millions of dollars in assets to be a good candidate for financial planning; intellicents is working to make this journey more accessible.
PLANADVISER: What have you done that you are most proud of?
Matheson: I am proud to help educate retirement savers and enable them to achieve a successful retirement outcome of maintaining their standard of living in retirement. My favorite workdays are when I meet with participants, especially at an employer that is new to intellicents, who have never discussed their 401(k) account and never had the opportunity to ask important, lingering questions. These participants are often eager to start saving or increase their savings once they understand the importance and urgency of saving for their future. I speak Spanish and have had the pleasure of meeting with dozens of groups of Hispanic participants around the country, many of whom have never been formally introduced to the retirement savings system in the US. Intellicents’ mission is to “overserve the underserved.” This is a mission I am proud to be a part of daily.