HOME > About > EBRI Team > Dallas Salisbury shown that a sm Mr. Chairman and m all fraction actually implem embers of the committee, I ent thei amr inten Dallas S tion alisbury, president and CEO of the s. Much of the impetus for changes The EBRI T Columns eam - Full Biograph House Financial Services Committee y in PPA was attributed to such research. Employee Benefit Research Institute and chairman of its saving education program, the Human Resource Executive Online [Web-only] Am erican Savings Education Council. Biography of Interviews Why or why not? Dallas L. Salisbury Hearing on “Teach Your Children Well” [an interview featuring Dallas Salisbury focusing on the need for financial President and CEO It is a pleasure to meet with you today to discuss the important topic of worker financial literacy, • The tools that provide for full Monte Carlo analysis of life expectancy, inflation, wage education and tools that show employees the probability of reaching retirement-income goals]. PIMCO DC Employee Benefit Research Institute “Financial Literacy and Education: The Effectiveness of Dialogu the role of the em e (January 2008). ployer, and both public and private sector efforts and partnerships. growth, investment returns by class, and annuity optimization have only recently become 1100 13th Street, NW, Suite #878 Governmental and Privat Washington, DC 20005 e Sector Initiatives” available. “Interview with Dallas Salisbury: President & C Phone: (202) 659-0670 EO of EBRI Offers Fascinating Historical Perspective on Several decades ago a number of corporations joined together to create the National Council on • Most financial planners are still using partial programs, and many still use static Today’s Retirement Security Challenges; Reveals Preference for Mandatory, National Retirement Savings Fax: (202) 775-6312 Economic Education ( www.ncee.net ) to build courses and materials to aid in student financial Program in program Addition to So s that do not even allow adjustm cial Security.” Online Magazin ent for long lives. e (October 15, 2007). April 15, 2008 literacy education, based on the premise that their future employees needed financial knowledge. • Most individuals wait until ages a Dallas Salisbu t which it is ry, oPresid ften too la ent and CEO o te to make sufficien f the Employee B t spend enefit ing 10 a.m. 2128 RHOB “Don’t Drop the Ball on Benefits.” HR Management (April 2006). [Note: At the home page, click on the link That group and many others which focus on our youth (such as www.jumpstartcoalition.org ) Research Institute (EBRI), joined EBRI at its founding in Washington, DC in 1978. and saving course adjustments before they become willing to allocate time to financial for HR Management US under ‘Publishing’; next, click on the link for ‘Past Issues’ from ‘The Publication’ tab depend for their financial support on large retirement plan sponsors and service firms, as well as upper left, then the link planning. The RCS consistently finds that le for the April 2006 issue.] ss than half report ever having made even a The overall EBRI mission is “to contribute to, to encourage, and to enhance the development of sound on financial institutions. guess at what would be needed in retirement, and fewer than 1 in 4 reports ever having e mployee benefit programs and sound public policy through objective research and education.” EBRI has Presentations earned wid done a serious calculation. Less than half espread regard as an organization that "tells it lik of those report taking action, and research e it is.” EBRI is supported financially by for- Bending the Curve: Options for Achieving Savings and Improving Value in U.S. Health Spending - Dec. 18, The U.S. Labor Department joined with EBRI (www.ebri.org ) and many other public and profit and non-profit corporations of all types, foundations, unions, government organizations, and 2007, briefing at the National Press Club, Washington, DC. suggests that over half of these did not actually take the action. international organizations seeking to better understand U.S economic security programs. The Institute does private organizations in 1995 to launch the American Savings Education Council • Organizations and individuals are driven by the short term—whether it be profit cycles, not lobby and does not advocate or oppose any policy position. The task of EBRI is to provide objective Health Coverage Revisited: Explori Testimony by Dallas L. Salisbury ng Options for Expansion - March 19, 2007, luncheon briefing (www.asec.org). This organization brings together many individuals and organizations with a informatpay periods, or credit card paym ion regarding the employee benefit syste ent cycles, m and related fi the short term nancial security is dominates over interm sues, to achieve its ediate- cosponsored by The Commonwealth Fund and the Alliance for Health Reform. [Note: Click on the last link dedication to encourage financial education, retirement plan sponsorship, and participant and primary goal, ‘that policy and design decisions be based on verifiable facts’. Researchers, policy makers under ‘Speaker Presentations’] or long-term planning. and the media rely heavily on EBRI researchPresiden . Dallas a t an nd his t d CEO eam regularly testify at Congressional and beneficiary education for the entire population, regardless of age, employment status, etc., but • When it comes to employee benefits, the importance of health coverage has shown up Commission hearings, and appear in print and broadcast media around the world. EBRI ® is the 14th most The Retirement Security Challeng Eme ployee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI - Feb. 1, 2007, presentation at the National Academy of Social Insurance with a heavy focus on plan sponsors and their workers. The Choose to Save program ® frequently cited “think-tank” in the nation using fair.org methods. consistently in the EBRI Value of Benefits Survey. More than 80 percent of workers say (NASI), 19th Annual Conference. (www.choosetosave.org ) of educational public service announcements, videos, Internet site, and As a member of a number of commissions, Dallas assists study panels as well as editorial advisory boards. and health insurance is their top benefits priority; over one-third say more health insurance is He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and a member of the Board of the NAHR materials was created as a direct result of the efforts of DOL, with encouragement from this The State of US Retirement Plans - May 23, 2006, slide presentation at the National Press Foundation’s four- their second priority; one-third say a savings plan is their second priority; and less than Foundation, the Commission on a High Performance Health System, the Board of Directors for FINRA Chairman day seminars titled Retirement Issues in the 21st Century. Advisory Council. Investor Education Foundation, and the Board of Advisors to the Comptroller General of the United States. 15 percent rank a pension plan as either first or second. Individuals focus on their current American Savings Education Council (ASEC) He has served on the Secretary of Labor's ERISA Advisory Co ® uncil, Presidential appointed PBGC Advisory The Employment-Based Pension System: Evolution or Revolution? – May 15, 2006, one-day conference needs. The EBRI Health Confidence Survey finds that nearly two-thirds report www.ebri.org and www.choosetosave.org Committee, Board of Directors of the Society for Human Resources Management, U.S. Advisory Panel on The overriding purpose of the cosponsored by AARP and EBRI. public service announcements, www.choosetosave.org , and the increases in their annual health costs, and over three-fifths of this group say they covered Medicare Education, and the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Social Insurance. Ballpark E$timate® worksheets is to provide some counterbalance to the heavy public and He has been honored with the Award for Professional Excellence from the Society for Human Resource the increase by either reducing savings or borrowing on a credit card or against their What Do the Data Say about the Future of Employee Benefits? - April 17, 2006, teleconference presentation, private drumbeat to borrow and spend, to use that plastic today to enjoy life now, to be patriotic Management, the Plan Sponsor Lifetime Achievement Award and the Keystone Award of World at Work. Human Resource Strategic Excellence Network. home. T-151 Dallas was a delegate to the 1998, 2002 and 2006 National Summit’s on Retirement Savings, and the 2005 and spend for growth, now, and worry about tomorrow another day. Savings is a tough choice White • House For a substantial proportion of workers, EBRI Conference on Aging. Dallas accepted a 2007 National Emmy surveys indicate that these pressures and Award for Savingsman and the to make in the midst of the constant noise of instant gratification urged upon us from all Choose to Save public education program. preferences are still in place as they reach “normal” retirement ages. This underlines why directions. When Benjamin was told in the “Graduate” that the future was “plastic”, who Dallas has written and lectured extensively on economic security topics. His most recent books are: they would not take advantage of financial planning programs when available. “Retirement Security in the United States: Current Sources, Future Prospects, and Likely Outcomes of thought the true m eaning was credit cards and debt”! Curren • t Trend The fact that over a th s”, “The Future of Retirem ird of new retirees depend ent Income in America”, “ entT ir hel e Futu y on S re of So ocial Security, and two- cial Insurance: Incremental Action or Fundamental Reform?”, “IRA and 401(k) Investing” and “Managing Money in thirds get a majority of their income from Social Security, provides clear evidence of Retirement”. these patterns. Prior to joining EBRI, Dallas held full-time positions with the Washington State Legislature, the U.S. Are current efforts working? Department of Justice, the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, and • The most powerful messages that individuals receive each day are to spend, and if need There are programs and tools available today that would provide the basis for sound individual the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). He holds a B.A. degree in finance from the University of be, to borrow to do so. The government is about to send out “stimulus” tax checks with Washington and an M.A. in public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. financial decision-making. But the reality is that even when they are made available most the request they be used for more consumption. Better that they be used to pay down individuals do not take advantage of them. Getting individuals to do so requires a constant debt or fund an IRA if the objective is long term financial security. The current March 25, 2008 drumbeat of effort. As already noted, given the constant noise to borrow and spend, current “mortgage” crisis is a direct result of our society having been so dedicated to borrowing savings initiatives are actually amazingly successf ul, as they are “outspent” by thousands of Outside Articles / Columns / Interviews / Presentations and spending and growth that it made it possible for people to borrow well beyond what dollars to one by those urging people to borrow and spend. we now know was advisable. Yet, public and private policy not only made it possible, it Articles The views m expresse ade it seem the “thing to do” as hom d in this statement are solely those of e ow Dallas Salisb nership was touted as the “ultim ury and should not be attribuate good”, as ted to the ® “Double Check Retirement Model Assumptions.” HR Horizons (October 2007). Where are we? We have sponsored the EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) for 18 Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the EBRI Education and Research Fund, any of its programs, officers, opposed to, for example, savings and thrift. years. We have always asked questions about what employers provide (a great deal), what trustees, sponsors, or other staff. The Employee Benefit Research Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, education and “Retiring by 65: Pipe Dream for Older Boomer Women?” In Paul Hodge, ed., Baby Boomer Women: Secure em researc ployees actually use (not m h organization established in Was uch), and whether us hington, DC, in 1978e has led to self-reported . The American Savings Educat changes in behavior ion Council, a program Futures Or Not?, 2006. of EBRI-ERF, is a nonprofit national coalition of public- and private-sector organizations undertaking initiatives to Thank you for the opportunity to appear today. (for a small number). Other research has taken the step of testing for results, with follow-up on All of our work since 1978 can be found on our raise public awareness about what is needed to ensure long-term personal financial independence. Neither EBRI nor “Are Individuals Taking Responsibility? Trends and Implications.” Benefits Quarterly (Fourth Quarter 2005). whether individuals actually do what they say they will do in response to education; results have Websites, and I encourage you ?and everyone ?to make use of it. [Note: abstract only available for free; full text requires username and password] ASEC takes policy positions, nor do they lobby or receive federal funding. ### D Da allas llas S Sa alisbury, EBRI lisbury, EBRI/ASEC /ASEC Ap April 15 ril 15, 200 , 2008 8 2 3