401(k) Specialist Issue 3 - 2019 - 34

401(k) TECHNOLOGY
Murphy, who's been at the Empower
helm since 2014 and heavily involved in
the J.P. Morgan deal, was named president
and CEO of GWL&A-the U.S. subsidiary
of Great-West Lifeco Inc. and the parent of
Empower-in early 2019.
His earnest, everyman demeanor belies
his accomplished business acumen, something
that seems to translate to the company's
culture as a whole.
A Massachusetts-to-Colorado transplant,
Murphy's office is adorned with Beantown
sports memorabilia, mainly football and
notably Doug Flutie-related, as the diminutive,
Hail Mary-Heisman quarterback was a
classmate of Murphy's at Boston College.
The wide-ranging discussion, therefore,
seamlessly started with Murphy's impressions
of Massachusetts Democrat Representative
Richard Neal, and retirement plan
legislation currently circling Washington.
Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means
Committee, co-sponsored the " Setting Every
Community Up for Retirement Enhancement
(SECURE) Act, " which looks to expand retirement
plan coverage and overwhelmingly passed
in the House with a 417-3 vote.
Empower is well-steeped in retirement plan
advocacy, and Murphy has a relationship with
Neal, whom he referred to as Richie.
" He's someone who cares passionately
about this issue, " Murphy said. " He knows
the space really well. He's arguably the
most astute legislator in retirement issues
in Congress. I'd put him right up there
with Rob Portman and Ben Cardin in the
Senate. So, we're very supportive of what
he's trying to do in the spirit of expanding
the marketplace and addressing those who
aren't covered by workplace savings, and the
ever-emerging gig economy with contract
workers and such. "
However, he did note the challenge of
requiring that small companies offer a retirement
plan, something typically met with
" fierce opposition " from the Republican
Party, given their disdain for mandates.
" That being said, we all agree that people
aren't saving enough for retirement and
there is, in fact, a crisis. We know the way
that people save is through payroll deductions
and workplace saving, so anything
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ISSUE 3 2019 | 401kSpecialist.com
that would facilitate and encourage it is
something we would embrace. "
Transforming the Retirement
System
The company's recent organizational
change, and investments in technology, are
in part an effort to better prepare and position
itself for the 401(k)-market expansion.
" We are pureplay on defined contribution
recordkeeping and not distracted in
our focus, " Murphy explained. " The level of
support, investment and commitment that
we have on the part of our owners and the
board is frankly unrivaled relative to the
experience I've ever had in my career. They
see this as a major growth opportunity for
the parent company and they see Empower
positioned to execute on our vision, which
is to transform the retirement system. "
That makes the timing fortuitous-this is
without a doubt an industry in flux, driven
by the regulation, generational demographics
and demise of traditional sources of
retirement income.
It's also a reason scale is so critical, Murphy
said, especially now.
" It's really important to one's long-term
success and the ability to continue to invest in
the business. I think the scale players, frankly,
are raising the bar for others. At the same time,
you have this pressure on admin and investment
fees, all of which have benefited the end
user, which is a positive thing. But the cost-toserve,
in many ways, is increasing. "
He uses cybersecurity as an example, an
area in which Empower (and many, many
others) has made material investments over
the past few years with its " security guarantee, "
where the firm will make clients whole if
funds are lost to a breach.
" What's interesting is that when we talk with
our customers or meeting with prospects, a
disproportionate amount of the questions tends
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401(k) Specialist Issue 3 - 2019

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