The Wave Strength by Pacific Life

What is a “license to spend”? And how can we make sure we don’t “leave happiness on the table”? On this episode of The Wave Strength, financial planning expert Dr. Michael Finke joins Host Jim Breen to unpack the No. 1 cause of anxiety for those approaching retirement: Not knowing how much they can spend in retirement.     Michael reveals that while the task of saving for retirement has been succe...

On this episode of The Wave Strength, Franklin Templeton’s Mary Beth Glotzbach joins Pacific Life’s Destiny Lara and Jim Breen to discuss how focusing on the needs of participants, providing customized solutions, and meeting participants where they are on their retirement journey can lead to better engagement and improve outcomes. Join us as we discuss why it's essential to consider the variou...

Leading Social Security expert, author, advisor, and winner of the Investment News’ Trailblazer Award, Mary Beth Franklin visits The Wave Strength to discuss how we can make sense of Social Security rules and regulations to take advantage of every available benefit.    A self-described “Social Security geek,” Mary Beth served as a journalist for over 40 years, covering financial news with a specia...

acific Life’s Executive Vice President, and Head of Institutional Business, Brian Woolfolk, stops by The Wave Strength to reflect upon the business unit’s first four years, and to discuss the exciting opportunities that lie ahead.    Brian and The Wave Strength host Jim Breen, revisit the challenging early days in 2020 when the business unit was just starting up, and everything else was shutting d...

On this episode of The Wave Strength, Franklin Templeton’s Lavina Mehta joins Pacific Life’s Michael Oler and Jim Breen to discuss the new partnership that’s bringing simple and flexible lifetime income solutions to workplace retirement planning.    We explore the market shift away from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans and discuss how lifetime income can help fill a critical nee...

On this episode of The Wave Strength, Franklin Templeton’s Katie Campbell joins Pacific Life’s Ahmet Kamil and Jim Breen to discuss the retirement crisis facing America and the lack of education around lifetime income solutions.    Personalization is a crucial aspect of the lifetime income conversation, and we explore the benefits of creating personalized and customized lifetime income solutions....

Pacific Life’s Ruth Schau and Jim Breen traveled to Glenview, IL, to meet with Wespath Benefits and Investments’ Martin Bauer to discuss innovation, collaboration, and helping plan participants enjoy a secure retirement. Listen in as they discuss how Wespath’s LifeStage Retirement Income program, which features Pacific Life’s optional longevity income protection annuity, helps ensure that retirees...

Join us on the latest episode of The Wave Strength as we explore the new partnership between Pacific Life and Franklin Templeton, two organizations with a long history of serving individual investors in the defined contribution space. Franklin Templeton’s Drew Carrington joins Pacific Life’s Michael Oler and Jim Breen to discuss the benefits of this collaboration, highlighting their commitment to...

Karen Neeley, Pacific Life’s new vice president of the Institutional Retirement Solutions Group, and Host Jim Breen discuss the challenges and opportunities for lifetime income to improve retirement outcomes. Karen reveals that while the financial services industry has effectively communicated the need to save for retirement (accumulation), many plan participants are unsure how much they can spend...

On this episode of The Wave Strength podcast series, Dr. Luisa Blanco joins Pacific Life’s Dr. Qi Sun and Destiny Lara to discuss the unique challenges facing members of the Hispanic Community when preparing for retirement. The insightful discussion highlights Dr. Blanco’s research, which reveals how a gap in financial knowledge can negatively impact retirement preparedness and what solutions can...

Pacific Life’s Institutional Division recently traveled to San Diego to attend the 2023 NAPA 401(k) Summit. During the conference, we recorded live interviews from the conference floor as part of our award-winning podcast, The Wave Strength.    In this episode, host Jim Breen sits down with Dandarah Wealth Management’s Domenick D’Andrea and Stephan Shatarah to discuss social media best practices,...

What does student loan debt have to do with retirement? Surprisingly, the age group closest to retirement carries the most student loan debt. According to Forbes , as of July 2023, Americans owed a total of $1.75 trillion in student loan debt, that’s an average of over $28,000 per borrower. However, those aged 62 and older carry the highest average balance of $49,375 per borrower. That’s over thre...

Steve Vernon wrote the book on lifetime income. In fact, the consulting research scholar at the Stanford Center on Longevity, and President of Rest-of-Life Communications has written several books on the subject, so we invited him to The Wave Strength to talk about financial security in retirement. Listen in as Steve reveals to Pacific Life’s Ruth Schau and Jim Breen, that a successful transition...

On this episode of The Wave Strength, Pacific Life’s Nicci Leibold joins host Jim Breen to discuss Pacific Life’s University Relations program and the importance of attracting the country’s best interns. Listen as Nicci explains how outreach, building networks, and fostering relationships are key tools for recruiting today’s top talent. Nicci reveals that modern interns are contributing much more...

Pacific Life’s Institutional Division and members of Pacific Life’s Key Executive Advantage Program (KEAP), traveled to San Diego to attend the 2023 NAPA 401(k) Summit. During the conference, the Institutional team filmed several interviews for upcoming episodes of our innovative podcast, The Wave Strength.     In this first episode of the series, host Jim Breen talks with Pacific Life’s Kim Coggi...

Jamie Finkral is part of Pacific Life’s Institutional Division’s exceptional customer service team; she joins The Wave Strength’s Jim Breen to share her passion for providing the best customer service in the industry. Listen in as Jamie shares how an innovative, proactive, people-focused philosophy is ensuring a world-class customer experience. Catch it now, on The Wave Strength.    About Jamie Fi...

For some of us, what we think our retirement is supposed to be like could lead to a big letdown. On the latest episode of The Wave Strength, Dr. Qi Sun and host Shea Frates highlight the new issue of Qi’s newsletter: I Didn’t Sign Up for This: Don’t Let High Expectations Ruin a Perfectly Good Retirement. Listen in as they discuss the generational shift in retirement, financial education, and retir...

With the Secure Act 2.0 officially signed into law, Seaver Sowers, Pacific Life’s vice president and head of global government & policy affairs, returns to The Wave Strength to discuss the provisions and explain how the Act can help Americans achieve a more secure retirement. Listen in as Seaver explains: How new provisions help Americans save for retirement What new features will benefit stud...

For the 6% of Americans who work in financial services, defined contribution lifetime income (DCLI) may seem like an obvious solution to fund retirement. But for the remaining 94% who are outside of the financial services bubble, DCLI might need a little explaining. On the latest episode of The Wave Strength, Paul Hance, Pacific Life’s chief financial officer for the Institutional Division, highli...

The Wave Strength recently hosted Nicole Brooks, Pacific Life’s new Stable Value Client Relationship Manager, and Products Director, Maya Pillai for an insightful discussion marking the 30th anniversary of the product line. Stable Value offers investors a safe alternative to volatile markets and the strength and stability of Pacific Life’s 150-year history of keeping our promises to our clients. L...

What are empathy interviews and how do they help plan sponsors and employers understand participants’ retirement-planning needs? Pacific Life’s Kristin Brooks stops by The Wave Strength and unpacks how empathy interviews can help reveal how plan participants feel about retirement, and what they need to make informed decisions to become retirement ready. Catch it now, on The Wave Strength.

In this episode of The Wave Strength, Pacific Life’s Dr. Qi Sun sits down with Digital Media Strategist Shea Frates to discuss Qi’s latest newsletter article which tackles the question: What’s up with inflation? Listen in as Qi and Shea discuss interesting data from the consumer price index, explore inflation’s impact on a household’s wealth and retirement plans, and reveal the winners and losers...

Seaver Sowers, Pacific Life’s vice president and head of global government & policy affairs joins Host Jim Breen, Institutional director of marketing, for a conversation about the Secure Act 2.0. Seaver reveals that the Act contains approximately 70 provisions that address a myriad of financial issues, many specifically designed to benefit retirees. Listen in as Seaver explains that his role i...

Michael Oler, Pacific Life’s new AVP, head of defined contribution lifetime income, joins Host Jim Breen, Institutional director of marketing, to share his excitement for the future of lifetime income. Michael unpacks the exceptional career path that led him to Pacific Life and describes how his life’s work has prepared him to help Americans retire with peace of mind. Listen in as Michael explains...

Paul Hance, Pacific Life’s senior vice president for Institutional Customer Solutions Group, joins Jim Breen, Institutional director of marketing, for a conversation about the challenges facing American retirees, and how the team is meeting those challenges. Paul shares that through a hearts and minds approach, the culture of the Group is to run towards these challenges and solve problems with ded...