In recent days, we have commemorated both the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy and the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Occasions such as these are natural opportunities for us to look back and reflect on the past — to consider what has happened since — and to consider what might have been.
As imperfect as our perception of current events can be, so-called 20/20 hindsight isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be, either. Even for those who were “there,” memories can be shaped or influenced by the passage of time, the perspectives of others, media coverage and the like.
As for advisors, if you’ve ever said (or intimated) that traditional pension plans in the private sector were once widespread, that health care insurance exchanges are a new concept, or that 401(k)s were a legislative “accident” discovered (and promoted) by a single “father” — well then, you’re probably contributing to the confusion about the realities of the past that can obscure an appreciation of the present, and a clearer vision for the future.
Next month we’ll be commemorating EBRI’s 35th anniversary (also see the Fall 2013 EBRI President’s Report from Dallas Salisbury, here), and on Dec. 12 we’ll also be conducting our 73rd policy forum. A series of expert panels will be considering the state of employee benefits — as it was, as it is, and as it is likely to be. We’ll have the perspectives of those who have been directly involved in the development and execution of policies at the dawn of ERISA, who have both negotiated and navigated the subsequent regulatory, operational, and legislative shifts, and futurists who are helping anticipate (and perhaps shape) the next generation of employee benefit plan designs.
Hindsight, insights, foresight. It’s a unique combination. If you’re in the Washington, DC area next week, we’d love to have you join us.
