Raising Confidence, Closing Retirement Gaps

Episode Introduction - The Gap with Toni Whaley

Today's episode of The Gap is one I've been really excited to record. If you listen to this podcast regularly, you know that while we spend a lot of time talking about the retirement savings gap and the coverage gap in America, we also make a point to recognize something that doesn't get enough attention. The private retirement system works and it has made a meaningful difference in millions of American lives. American workers are far more likely to save for retirement when they have access to a workplace plan and when education, confidence, and guidance are layered on top of that access, the impact can be life-changing.

That's why I am thrilled to welcome today's guest, Toni Whaley. Toni is the co-founder and CEO of Paladin Advisor Group , a plan member financial center serving more than 3,500 clients across the greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area. With more than 20 years as a financial professional, Tony has dedicated her career to helping people, especially those who serve others, gain confidence, clarity, and peace of mind around their financial futures. 

Episode Description

We trace Toni’s path from early uncertainty to leadership, uncovering the moments that reshaped her philosophy—like the day a client reframed “mad money” as real retirement money. That mindset shift powers Paladin’s education-first approach across educators, federal employees, nonprofits, and small businesses. Toni explains why adults learn best through relevant stories, bite-size concepts, and visible progress, and how that approach outperforms generic content and market noise. The takeaway: confidence and clarity are as valuable as any fund lineup.

We also dive into Raise Her, a bold five-year movement to empower one million women with practical tools and a clear plan for every stage: early learning, informed decisions, consistent saving, and smart retirement spending. Toni shares how Raise Her removes barriers—student debt stress, time scarcity, fear of asking—and invites action through social settings and ready-to-use materials. 

Guest Bio: Toni Whaley

2024 NTSA President and 2024 Marquis Who's Who Honoree, Toni E. Whaley is Co-Founder and CEO of Paladin Advisor Group, A PlanMember Financial Center. She has been a financial planner for over 20 years. Together with her husband Mike, she has grown Paladin Advisor Group to nine associate financial professionals, servicing several counties in the greater Baltimore and Washington DC area. Paladin services over 3,500 clients and manages over $290 million in client assets. Toni currently holds series 6, 65, 63 and life and health licenses; and a CRES – Certified Retired Education Specialist designation.  As a financial professional, Toni focuses on helping those who make it their mission to serve others. Her clients include education professionals and their spouses, Federal employees, and employees of for-profit and non-profit organizations as well as Small Business.  Helping people discover who they are, who they want to become and plan for their future is a major focus for Toni.  Toni belongs to the Howard County Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Professional Women, the Financial Services Institute, and the Howard County Estate Planning Council. Paladin Advisor Group is listed as an A+ accredited company with the Better Business Bureau.

Contact Toni:

Here is the link for Rai$e Her: https://www.ntsa-net.org/education/rai$e-her/

Toni Whaley: twhaley@planmembersec.com

Transcript

Mission And Guest Introduction

Speaker 0:32

Hello, I'm Shannon Edwards, your host, and the owner of TriStar Pension Consulting. I would like to welcome all listeners to our podcast with a special welcome to those of you listening for the first time. I started this podcast because I have a passion for helping Americans achieve a dignified retirement. By sharing innovative ideas, this podcast is designed to help close the gaps that America has in retirement savings and coverage. By doing so, we can improve the lives of working Americans. Today's episode of The Gap is one I've been really excited to record. If you listen to this podcast regularly, you know that while we spend a lot of time talking about the retirement savings gap and the coverage gap in America, we also make a point to recognize something that doesn't get enough attention. The private retirement system works and it has made a meaningful difference in millions of American lives. American workers are far more likely to save for retirement when they have access to a workplace plan and when education, confidence, and guidance are layered on top of that access, the impact can be life-changing. That's why I am thrilled to welcome today's guest, Toni Whaley. Toni is the co-founder and CEO of Platten Advisor Group, a plan member financial center serving more than 3,500 clients across the greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area. With more than 20 years as a financial professional, Toni has dedicated her career to helping people, especially those who serve others, gain confidence, clarity, and peace of mind around their financial futures. In 2024, Toni served as president of the National Tax Deferred Savings Association. And she is also a 2024 Marquee Who's Who Honoree. Her work spans retirement income planning, pension and benefit education, Medicare, Social Security, and financial wellness. And she is a powerful advocate for education as the gateway to better retirement outcomes. Toni is also the visionary behind Raise Her, a bold five-year initiative designed to empower one million women with the knowledge, confidence, and tools to take control of their financial lives and retire on their own terms. This movement aligns beautifully with the values shared across the American Retirement Association and its sister organizations, including ASPA, and it represents exactly the kind of collaborative, education-driven solution our industry needs. Today we're going to talk about Toni's personal journey, the work she does every day to close the savings and coverage gaps, how RaiseHer came to be, why she believes it will work, and how all of us as plan sponsors, advisors, and industry professionals can help turn this vision into a reality. Toni, welcome to the gap. I am so glad you're here. Thank you so much, Shannon, and I'm so glad to be here. Thank you. I am looking forward to our discussion. You have spent more than two decades as a financial professional. Can you walk us through your journey, how you first entered this industry, and what ultimately led you to co-found Paladin Advisor Group? Thanks so much.

Building Trust Through Education

Speaker 2 3:37

Yeah, I started out actually as a civil servant in the government. And my husband and I went on our first starting out, setting up our retirement, I really felt like I needed to lean in on him for his understanding of the markets and what to do. I didn't want to mess it up. And he seemed to have so much confidence. And so I said, You can handle that. So later we had uh children, he everything was fine. I was starting to be a mom, he was still handling everything. And then the children started growing up and going to school. And I said, I think I would like to learn more about this. My husband said, Please don't come into this industry. And I said, Well, I would really like to try my hand at it. So he said, Okay, fine. So um he said, just so long as you get your education separate from me, because I really want to make sure that I'm not the one teaching you that you are actually gaining your own perspective, and then we can always meet about it and talk about it and see how it reflects on us and what you're gonna do with regard to your own career. I felt that that was so empowering and so supportive. So I spent the last the last year still, I'm still learning, I'm still applying some new and improved understandings, especially as the markets change. But I did, it was like drinking from a fire hose at first. And uh as I attended meetings, I got my licensing and all that kind of stuff, I was like, wow, this is really cool stuff to know. But as I began to apply myself, I realized women, especially, because we're working in the teachers' realm where you know, teachers are all around the lunch table in the lunchroom and they're talking about the children and things that are going on and da-da-da-da-da. And then I start interjecting with financial things, and everything turned to crickets. And I was like, oh my word. So I realized that people were just afraid to step up and they didn't want to show what they didn't know. And so that's when I started changing my approach to women and asking them questions that I was sure that they understood, like how they how they managed their budgets and you know, where they found their pain points were in their lives. And that began bringing people to the table. We were able to talk about financial things and they realized they know a lot more than what they real that they actually knew. And so that began that journey of trying to figure out the way to educate them without thinking that they're being taught something. It sounded seemed like a good conversation, and here we are all these years later. And I really feel that Paladin Advisor Group has really made sure that when we approach people with education first, it gives us the understanding of where they are, how to build, and take them where they really need to go, and not have all of the things of the you know, the media and all the scare tactics and things. There's just a lot of fear out there. So we're helping to gain, give them confidence so that they can have this conversation.

Speaker 6:57

That's great. And you're right, there is a lot of fear. Your client base includes educators, federal employees, nonprofit workers, and small business owners, people who truly serve others. What drew you to working with these communities?

Speaker 2 7:12

Well, I know that in your typical nonprofits and other mission-organized organizations, companies, things like that, the last thing that people tend to look at is all of the benefits that these particular folks get. And as part of this unique niche marketplace, there is a plan carrier representative who can actually sit. I mean, we are actually paid to sit with them to help them uh understand, engage their plan, use it to their benefit, and not only just meet with somebody once, but meet with somebody as long as that is in place and they're putting things together, improving, life happens, changes. That's why we felt that we really could spend time with people in this niche market, and it has really proven to be the truth in the case.

Speaker 8:11

Awesome. As Palatin grew from the early days to a firm serving thousands of clients, how did your role evolve as both a leader and an advisor?

Speaker 2 8:23

I started out as a financial advisor. Walking the streets, going into schools, making, you know, smiling and dialing, you know, doing everything I possibly could to make sure that I understood this market. And then my husband and I decided to team up because we were individual advisors, working alongside each other in the same industry, but not really coordinated. I found that I was more along the lines of the relationship manager, and my husband was more along the lines of understanding all the details about the investments. I was able to lean in on him. So we decided that Paladin Advisor Group would be an opportunity for us to leverage each other's talents and to make sure that we were 360 degrees serving all clients together. And everyone that has joined our organization has really felt that that was the right way to go with regard to being full service financial planning firm. And that's why Paladin Advisor Group is what it's doing today and still growing. We just actually hired on our son. So he is 32 years old, and now we're a full next generation financial planning firm with some new and improved and innovative ideas to get that next generation of folks interested in saving for their retirement.

Niche Clients And Ongoing Guidance

Speaker 9:57

Well, congratulations on that. That's exciting news. Was there a moment or a series of moments when you realize just how powerful financial education can be in changing someone's life?

Speaker 2 10:11

I would say that when you're trying to walk into a situation that is already, let's just say, you know, if there's an environment in a schoolhouse, say, you're not part of that environment. And breaking in and being a trusted advisor and kind of spouting off what you know from the beginning just doesn't seem to be the best way to go. We really tested with every opportunity we could in looking at and in infusing ourselves in a culture, and education seemed to be the best way to do that because you're piquing someone's interest. We as humans are very curious creatures. And when you make the environment safe, approachable, and interesting, then people will actually be drawn to you. And if you give information that's really important to them rather than what's important to me, I'm just always focusing on them. That's where we found that our inroads were so much more clear, so much more easy. And then they trusted us that we were there on their behalf. It wasn't something we were trying to sell them.

Speaker 11:31

Yeah. Over the years, what experiences most shaped your belief that confidence and understanding are just as important as access to retirement plans?

From Solo Advisors To A Family Firm

Speaker 2 11:43

Well, having been in that role myself, not having any confidence, I do have some empathy and I understand where they're coming from, where folks are coming from when they're coming into this conversation. I just really believe that coming at this and approaching that as an empathetic person, I I really honestly believe that they believe we're there for their benefit, that this is what we're being paid to do, that their employer plan is a is a true benefit for them and worth just a little bit of their time. And if somebody will just gently invite, then they will have an opportunity to retire on their own terms because there's gonna be some money there. I will tell you one story that really did change my perspective as well, because I still, even as a professional, didn't quite get it. When I was talking with a husband and wife, the wife was the teacher, and her her 403b was not really a lot. You know, it was she had probably saved about $50,000, $60,000 in it. I mean, well, that's a lot, but you know, as far as uh where she was in her career, she could really she was on track for a lot more. Uh, and I actually referred to her 403B as her mad money. And she actually sat back and said, What are you talking about? This is my retirement money. And I realized that I was still not viewing the that retirement savings as something very important. And I was dismissing it as mad money because her husband was making a lot more and saving more. And at that moment, I said, uh-uh, no more. A dollar saved is a dollar earned, and we want to make sure that every last penny is accounted for and cherish it as an accomplishment for everyone who's saving for their retirement.

Speaker 13:54

So true. How did your involvement with NASA influence the way you think about education, advocacy, and industry-wide impact?

Speaker 2 14:05

Being able to rub shoulders with folks in this industry gave me a perspective outside myself. I think sometimes you just are in the forest and you can't see the trees. But I've be I feel that having that opportunity to sit outside the forest and look at it and see the trees for what they were, all the people who are involved in making sure that we have access to employer groups and that they, as employer groups, really cherish the fact that this is a unique piece of retirement brilliance, if you will, that's not available in every industry. So we want to make sure that we partner in, and I see that from more than just the perspective I have here in Maryland, having it from a nationwide perspective, and realizing that again, not everybody approaches their business in this industry the same way that I did. Not, you know, some people have come in as second gen, some people use referrals, some people, you know, they do they host parties or you know, in service days with lunches and stuff like that. And so that becomes a little more cyclical rather than taking control of your business and and really filling that pipeline with folks, no matter where they are on that journey of making a decision to engage their employer plan or not, you have an opportunity to become part of the culture. And they they will come to you when they're ready. And that will absolutely give a lot deeper relationship there for the district's sake, for the TPA's sake, for the the principals who manage the buildings and those who are are making decisions about whether we should continue working with this carrier or not.

Speaker 16:03

You served as NASA president in 2024 and you were recognized as a marquee who's who, honoree. Congratulations on both, by the way. Looking back, what accomplishments are you most proud of?

Confidence, Empathy, And A Mindset Shift

Speaker 2 16:21

I am most proud as a person who started from not knowing anything to a person who can actually have a conversation and encourage others to be better than they thought they could. I have found out that my professional best is when I'm helping someone else to achieve things they never thought they could, or it wasn't even on their radar, because it's what I did. I cannot believe that I was given that precious opportunity to sit on the leadership council. I thought, me? Why should I be a leader? Yeah. And then to be invited to be into the management council. Okay, it's just another step. And then all of a sudden, now all eyes are looking at me. Yes, madam president, what are we gonna do today? And I thought, okay, let's go back to the basics. Let's make sure that everybody who is in this industry at least gets an opportunity to see things from my seat and to hopefully make their world a little bit better because of the fact that I was actually involved in their business at some level. I think Natsa has been a great teacher to me as well as I have done that. What raised her was just such, I don't know, it was just a moment when you kind of go, hey, you know, it seems simple enough. It had a stated goal with a tool, and it was pretty simple, and everyone embraced it right away, especially in a time and place in our American culture where women tend to be a little bit floundering when it comes to their ability to feel confident, to feel that they have the ability to make these changes and choices, and to have a voice in their community and in their families about financial matters.

Speaker 18:29

Yeah, I have I have to agree with you about you know serving on NASA leadership. I have had the joy and honor of serving on ASPA leadership for several years, and and I'm uh the president this year of ASPA, and it is such an honor to be able to lead in this community and to be asked to lead in this community. So it is one of my proudest accomplishments as well. Paladin Advisor Group has grown into a highly respected firm with deep community roots. What do you think has been the key to that success?

Speaker 2 19:03

I believe that the key to anybody's success is to never forget where you came from. We're never too big for our britches, right? We we need to make sure that we're always approachable, that we're serving those people in need. I mean, isn't this the best thing that we get to do as financial advisors is serve people in need with a need. We are actually fulfilling something that maybe doesn't come naturally or could be broken in their world. We want to make sure that we we always stay connected to our roots. I want to make sure everybody understands here in Maryland that we care about them, we care about their success because they don't care about what you know until they know how much you care about them, correct? So we also give back, we make sure that we are attending any local opportunities to help younger people enter the workplace. We have developed our own internship program here, and we always have a service project every year where the team comes together and we make sure that we are doing something for those in need without expecting anything back from them. And that to me is the most important way to keep yourself on the straight and the narrow when it comes to understanding who you are in relation to the community.

Industry Perspective And Leadership Growth

Speaker 20:34

Yeah, I I talk about this a lot. How lucky we are in this industry, whether you're regardless of which sister organization you're a member of or what your role is in the industry, how lucky we are because every single one of us has the chance every single day to change someone's life. And there's not a lot of jobs that you could have that you get to make such a big difference in so many lives across the United States. So I really, really, really truly believe that. What excites you most?

Speaker 2 21:18

What excites me most is to be able to ignite that conversation across the United States that gives us something positive to talk about. Everyone has a starting point and everyone can do something. And when we are actually helping others to help others, it's kind of like this give, and then you feel like you want to give some more, and others are giving. And so it's this, yes, it's ambitious, but it's like, I don't know, it's like you tell two people, they tell two people. So I don't know. I guess this is multi-level marketing in a very positive way where nobody is expecting anything from anybody except uh, you know, passing on this knowledge. I just believe that inspiring people to be better, that's as I said before, to just be better than they ever thought they could, or to achieve more than they ever thought they could. I I'm a firm believer there are three things that we're taught as children not to discuss. And if it's a if it's a little bit off, I'm so sorry. But I mean, religion, politics, and money, right? Do not talk about. These things. And guess what? We are so bad at talking about religion, politics, and money. If you don't learn how to share that and to discuss that, especially money, in a way that helps others to get that foundational belief that they actually have a share in a in a rich future, then what are we doing to each other? We're only tearing each other down. And that's not what I got into this industry for. I wanted to see folks retire with confidence. And that's what Raise Her is all about.

Speaker 23:07

That's wonderful. I'll never forget one of one memory I have from first grade. Um, I went I went to a Catholic school and the priest came in to talk to us about being a priest. And I had a nun who was the teacher, and I raised my hand, and my question was, How much do you make a year as a priest? And I got scolded. I got scolded by the nun. I got scolded by the priest. I got scolded by my parents that night that you just you don't talk about that ever, right? And um, I'll I'll never forget that. And then there was a time I was writing an article for Planned Consultant Magazine about financial wellness, but more like financial education and why we need to start so much younger than than we do. And there was a study, and one of the things that I remember them quoting was parents would rather talk to their kids about drugs and sex and alcohol than money. They they run from discussing money with their kids. And I think that, you know, part of that probably is that we have a lot of adults who are not educated when it comes to finances. And so they're scared to talk about it or scared to show what they don't know. But also just they just don't, they just don't want to talk about it with their kids. They don't want those questions. But I think that you're right, we have to get better about having those those conversations and we have to start doing it earlier in life rather than later.

Community Roots And Service Culture

Speaker 2 24:37

Oh, I agree. I agree 100%. And I want to, you know, it remakes it reminds me one of the things that I do love to talk with people about in their in their education to make them feel that they can talk with me about stuff is that I remember being in third grade, and I don't think I really knew how to count money at that point. But I had some coins in my hand, and my mother let me walk down the street to the to this corner grocery store or you know, the convenience store. And so this older, this older girl, I was in third, she was in fifth, I think. And I remember the candy display in front of me, and I wanted to buy some candy. And I realized that uh my money was gonna get me that candy, but I didn't understand how that exchange was gonna work, and so I kept asking her, Kathleen, if I buy that, that, and that, how much of this money do I get to keep? And that really gave me an insight into who I was about a money person, you know, what uh what resources I had. I wanted what I wanted, but I also wanted my money. Right, right. So that really spurs people to then share their first opportunity where they understand about money. You get to learn whether that's something that's that is passed on through their family relations. Everybody has a first opportunity where they realize that money has a value.

unknown 26:08

Right.

Speaker 2 26:08

And what we're supposed to do with that value. And without going too much further, and I'm sorry to be too no, this is great. This is what this show is about.

Speaker 26:18

It's about having conversations and telling stories.

Early Money Stories And Learning Curves

Speaker 2 26:21

That's awesome. When my mom and I, my mother did all my taxes for me. She ran it, managed my money. I, you know, had my job, you know, when I was a young adult, you know, 16, 17, 18, you know, in that time I was still still living with my parents. And I kind of again relied on her. And then she told me about these credit card things. And she was like, Well, we're gonna get you a credit card. And you know, you're making real money now, so I'm gonna show you how to use this credit card. And I love you, mama, and I appreciate so much. And so please take this for what it means. And my mother has my mother has passed on, so um, but uh, she would absolutely, she would absolutely smile when I tell this story that she would say, okay, now you go to the store, you buy these things, then you have a credit balance, and then you just pay the minimum payment when the bill comes in, and then you just have you just have this ongoing balance, you pay the minimum payment. I tell you what, Shannon, that just didn't set right with me. I love my mom, but uh, you know, that just didn't set right. And so when I actually then got out in the world and I became a young married woman, my husband and I changed that thought process. And of course, it was always a struggle between me and my mom because I would pay it off. She's like, no, no, no, you don't have any money if you do that, and I would just pay it off. And no, no, no, you're supposed to pay the minimum. So I just say that, you know, sometimes you don't learn the best, right? In situation, but you know what? I think the thing is if you're always open to learning, then you will not necessarily be stuck in ruts. There are many other things my mom was able to impart on me, and she's still the largest voice in my head when it comes to many things in my life. But I have to laugh about that particular struggle that we had, wasn't the typical mother-daughter struggle, but that was an interesting struggle to say the least. And and it did revolve around my understanding of finance and trying to help folks to not get trapped in that.

Speaker 28:29

Yeah. Yeah. No, I and we all have our story, right? That that developed our relationship with money and savings and different things. Cause I grew up in Oklahoma during the oil bust, and remember my dad's accounting firm, which was largely built on energy-based businesses. And so his firm was really hit hard. And I was in high school at the time. So I understood what was going on in the conversations that were being had at home about how hard things were. And so, you know, I developed a save, save, save, save, save, don't spend, don't spend, don't spend because you don't want to ever be, you know, financially insecure. So we all have those stories about how we developed our relationship with money and then what how we passed it on to our kids. So anyway, no, I love those stories. Over your career, what lessons have you learned about what truly motivates people to engage with their retirement savings?

Speaker 2 29:31

I think if you show them with their own data their path to what they want, might not be millionaire, but many times, especially when they're young in their career, it very well could be. When you show them the path and you say, look, here are the numbers, here's what you have with you. Let's just start where you're at. That tends to be the most effective way to encourage someone to take the plunge. I remember sitting with a young professional in Prince George's County public schools. He had he wasn't he was still an electric electrician's per apprentice at that point, not making a lot of money. So he kind of was pushing back by, you know, this sounds great, but I I don't need to save. And I'm like, we have to start somewhere, and you're going to get there eventually. So wouldn't it be nice to see you had something saved? So we sat down. It took a moment because he actually, when I showed him his pathway to his retirement, if you will, he literally was motivated right then and there. He had just bought a new car, he sold it and bought a used car. He aligned and changed his life so that he could begin this path very soon. And when he married 15 years later, his wife sat with me in the conference room and she thanked me profusely for that initial conversation and teaching him how to align himself with what he truly wanted, rather than that. I have things, status things now. You know, he's able to be able to build himself into wealth that he just never thought he could have, never saw himself, never saw the people around him have that. But he started that journey. He began to then build upon that every year. When he got married, they together started building and they're so happy today. They still have about 15 years of their 15, maybe 12 years left of their careers. They have two children now, and everything is going great, and their accounts are showing that they're going to be very happy and successful in retirement to save their lifestyle for themselves for that 30 years that they won't be working.

Speaker 1 32:02

That is great.

Speaker 2 32:03

Yeah. So I'm I'm really excited about being able to do that over and over and over. I'm heartbroken when I can't, but not everybody is a right fit. And it's not always the right time. And no, you know, but uh it's just there's just life is just so variable, isn't it?

Speaker 32:20

It is, it is. But it's so it's so good too when you can give them like a concrete goal that they can actually see and visualize and and get them to buy into what has to happen now for that to happen later. Yes. I agree. Um what if your clients, especially women, taught you about the barriers that still exist when it comes to financial confidence and retirement readiness?

Showing The Path: Motivation That Sticks

Speaker 2 32:44

We've touched a little bit on the fear of the unknown, fear of maybe appearing that they just don't know enough and they don't want to, they don't want to sh show their cards, if you will. I think, you know, just they're busy. And they think that I can wait till tomorrow. Well, you know, tomorrow tends to, especially in the human condition and especially with women, we have so many competing priorities in our lives that just tends to take the backseat, and we suffer for that over and over and over again. And the final thing that I think probably is an obstacle is again, like, again, like I said, you just kind of like leave it to someone else to make those decisions for you. I tend to combat all of this with if you absolutely wait for someone else to you know to plan for you, you'll be very, very disappointed to see that they planned nothing for you. And that's not where we want women in America to end up. Time and time again, we see them on the short end of life's decisions and obstacles that that come later in life that we just have no idea are there, or that will become part of our story. I think something's better than nothing. So I just encourage, I encourage women to get started, and then hopefully the success will breed more success, will breed more success. That's the reason that I believe that Raise Her does hit right at that, you know, right in the middle of that target need for women in America.

Speaker 34:30

If you could go back and give your younger self advice at the start of your career, what would it be?

Speaker 2 34:38

I would I would definitely come back to myself and say have a plan. I just kind of went from thing to thing to thing. There was no real career plan, no coordinated skill stack plan. No, I mean, I knew that I knew that I had some knowledge about saving money. I wanted to keep my money, but I wanted to have things. And so I kind of had a foundation that just, but I just didn't understand enough. So I think the idea of just being patient with myself and spending more time thinking about the things that I really wanted and making a plan may have given me an opportunity to maybe have a leg up and be better off today than I am. However, it's never too late. So I wouldn't tell anybody to regret because starting is the biggest thing, but doing something is better than nothing. And we may be surprised at how much we can accomplish if we will just give it a little bit of attention.

Speaker 35:57

It's so true. Even with strong workplace plans and good intentions, we know many Americans, especially women, still struggle with saving enough or feeling confident in their decisions. Where do you see the biggest challenges today?

Barriers Women Face And How To Start

Speaker 2 36:14

I do see quite a lot of folks, young, young women and men, but women they're struggling under a lot of student debt. They've taken on quite a lot of student debt, maybe made some decisions that have taken them a little bit too far down the path to even entertain. And so I encourage women, especially to be bold to make another choice. Just because you made a decision doesn't mean that that's the decision for the rest of your life, right? So come back, let's read, let's retalk, let's you know, revisit all of these choices you've made, see how they fit into where you really think you are now heading, and see if that actually will get you where you want to go and be bold enough to make some changes. And I'm willing to work with you. I think a lot of women too think that they're not gonna be worth my time. And I'm like, yeah, you are worth my time. You are worth my time. That's why I'm here. So please allow me to do this. And just the light bulbs go on, and they go, Really? Because I thought you had to have money in order to talk with a five. Right. You have to have a life that's worth someone coming alongside you and coaching you to have the life you want, not the life I've designed. That's your life. I have my life, thank you. So, this is where I believe the obstacles lie in just getting over that belief that they just aren't worth it, that they don't have what it takes to uh warrant my attention or somebody like me, they're on my attention. And just be bold to make new choices.

Speaker 37:57

You know, I tell so many financial advisors that I work with, especially I have a lot of financial advisors in in my area that are what we call generalists, right? They have a handful of plans, but not their it's not their whole practice. But I can constantly repeat myself about how lucky they are to be able to serve the plan participants that they can serve, because they are probably the only financial advisor that that participant will ever meet or talk to. And so they, you know, they are in a powerful role to help that participant and to change that person's course and change their future. And I just think that that's such an amazing gift that they should really embrace. And I just I keep trying to encourage people, you know, do more plans, affect more lives, and it just it makes you feel so good. So um what obstacles did you encounter when developing Raise Her? And and what resistance, if any, did you anticipate when launching such a large-scale initiative?

Why Raise Her And How It Scales

Speaker 2 39:01

I will have to tell you, Shannon, that there was no, there was no resistance whatsoever. The only thing was trying to explain to NASA that we weren't trying, you know, my my my membership and stuff, that we're not trying to build an initiative to better us. We're trying to build an initiative to better your clients and your impact in your community. And the light bulbs went on when we changed that. Because I think for many industry associations, which is very important to be an advocate for ourselves and to educate ourselves and to stay, you know, whatever, if even if it's a page ahead of our clients or you know, 10 pages or two degrees, whatever it is, we're only as good as we are when we are sitting with a client. And how do you actually break those barriers to do that? The CRESS initiative, the certified retirement education specialist specialist is really what we have with NTSA. And that was something that we really tried to set up as our as our flagship education program. But there's also a barrier to entry there with you know, paying a fee and seeing if if educating your clients or getting into your communities is something that you know would work for you. So raise her was kind of like that little gateway into CRESS. So it, you know, everybody was excited to see where it was positioned. And I didn't have all the answers when I came up with the idea. So we put a working group together of women in the industry, and together we really made this a very exciting, like I said, gateway to really allowing ourselves to get those credentials and then really taking it to that next level. So Raise Her, and again, you don't also you also don't have to with Raise Her. We we decided early on not to make Raise Her something that you had to be licensed in order to give it. Uh, you know, as long as you understand the concepts, you can actually have, you know, can join and be a presenter with Raise Her. And we envisioned with how social we women are, that they would have a you know, a tea party, a wine gathering, whatever. Like we have our, you know, our our viewing parties with some with some of these wonderful Netflix and all these other, you know, shows and stuff. This is just one thing to sit around that that can be fun. And we can go, did you know? Did you know? Did you know? And the person who's even talking to them is not necessarily licensed, but we always connect people and say, if you want to talk with somebody, come back to NASA, we'll find somebody in your area. So anyway, that there was no there was no pushback except re-education and just tweaking a little bit of our understanding, and they they just embraced it 100% and have been really enjoying. I've seen stories come back from different areas in the country where people are enjoying the conversation and it is making an impact. But we're just at the beginning. We have five years of this initiative. We want to make sure that we don't lose momentum by allowing it to fall down on the priority list. So that's another thing that I'm gonna keep pushing and pushing. And so I'm grateful for you, Shannon, and allowing us to talk about this to your audience.

Speaker 42:26

Go ahead. Oh, absolutely. I think it's so important. And that's so my next question is how did you how did you get the idea? How did the idea for Razer come to life?

Speaker 2 42:36

It's not really rocket science, quite honestly. You know, uh there was another organization that I was aware of, or actually there's been kind of several organizations, and they're like, Oh, we're gonna, you know, we're gonna hit one million people and make sure that we get one million people over the next whatever time frame or whatever with this particular piece of knowledge. I mean, you gotta start with a number. So a million seemed to be a nice round number. Right. Might as well go big or or go home, right? Right. So, and putting a putting a time limit on it may help it to stay at least with the priority, you know, so we would know that there was an ending. We're gonna keep score at some point, it's gonna, it's gonna finish. I hope that it never does, but we'll, you know, we'll see. And so that I just I don't know, just decided that this is really what I wanted to do. And and I just took took little elements from other things I saw and said, okay, ladies, what do you think? Okay, ARA, what do you think? Because really ARA and NTSA made the decision together with the leadership council, and then we took it to our membership. So that it was it was really that simple.

Speaker 43:54

So the program focuses on early education, informed decision making, savings strategy, and retirement spending. Why was it important to address the entire financial life cycle?

Speaker 2 44:07

Oh, with regard to Razor?

Speaker 44:10

Yes, Razor. Sorry.

Speaker 2 44:11

Yes, no worries, no worries. Well, I mean, it it has a it has a life cycle, uh, and every person who's part of this is gonna have their own experience with each step along the way. We needed to come up with a starting point where, for instance, One of the topics we talk about in Race Her is the SP index. You hear it talked about all the time on TV. And quite honestly, I was probably 10 years into the business before I truly understood what an index was.

Speaker 1 44:45

Yeah.

The Learning Lifecycle And Simple Starts

Speaker 2 44:47

So I believe that unearthing some things that, okay, yeah, we heard this and yeah, we kind of get it, but then we really explain what it is, and now we've built something. And when you have an inroad of new understanding, that's the place where you can start stacking in other things. So adult learners are way different than children learners. Children are sponges. You tell them the sky is blue and they go, It's blue. But you tell an adult the sky is blue and they go, Why? Why do you want me to believe that? Why should I even care? kind of thing. So there's there's an analogy that you've got to place in why it's important, why they need to pay attention, and then they're willing. So if you get one little thing planted, that's your inroad, and now you've earned the right, and you tell them the sky is blue, and they go, Yeah, it's blue. So that's why I think that it's it's it's interesting and it's important to make sure that you have a place to start. We had to pick a place, and and I believe it helps us then all get together and move in through that cycle together.

Speaker 46:02

Why do you believe this program will work and what makes it different from other financial education efforts that we've seen?

Speaker 2 46:12

I believe it works because it doesn't have to necessarily be such a formal thing. If we we are already talking about this as professionals, we're already doing this. And so this just memorializes what we've learned because I think sometimes we forget where we started. And especially if we've had a client for a long time, we forget where they came from, kind of thing, and we just assume that they know everything and they make it seem like they know everything because they get to know you. I just think that it's going to be successful in helping to bridge and fill in those gaps and really strengthen and deepen the conversations and force a professional to listen more and a client to speak more and ask more questions. I honestly believe this is a great place to start. It gets those habits going solidified, and then you're ready for those harder conversations as life throws you those curveballs.

Speaker 47:16

What role do industry professionals, whether it's TPAs, advisors, plan sponsors, record keepers, what role do we play in helping raise her reach one million women?

Roles For TPAs, Sponsors, And Advisors

Speaker 2 47:29

The roles that I think are very important for each of us is to understand we have something to share that we know that Americans do not save for retirement without either an invitation or some kind of force mechanism. That can be an argument down the path, but this is one way where each of us from our seats can say, look, here's a conversation starter. TPAs can talk with the benefits coordinators. The benefits coordinators are in charge of the messaging to their participants, the advisor is on the ground speaking with all of the participants and with the educators and coordinating how they can get this message out in a systemized way along those channels that are already, those channels are already active. Communication is already there, reporting is already there, capturing ourselves in the act of doing good. That's what this is going to do.

Speaker 48:35

As we look ahead to National Women's Retirement Day on July 14th, 2026, what do you hope this day will represent for women and for our industry?

Speaker 2 48:45

I'm so excited about this. I really honestly believe it's our opportunity to step up to the microphone with the American Retirement Association and all its system organizations and say, yeah, we're advocating, we believe in this, and here's how we're doing it, and we're capturing ourselves on purpose, doing what we already say we're doing. And it's a system, it's a it's a voice, it's a message that everybody can get behind together. Do you know what I mean? So I'm excited about it being a pivotal point where we now all have the KPIs that are going to be in place for us to capture ourselves and go, yeah, I did so many raise her classes, and I did get so many women to register themselves and say, hey, I took the class. And we did hit a million women at some point. Now NTSA's is a five-year initiative. ARA says, look, this is an ongoing thing because there are more women every day entering the workforce. And we want to make sure that we perpetuate and catch people as early as possible before those decisions are made that do not include retirement planning.

Speaker 50:02

It's gonna be exciting. It is exciting. I'm I'm very excited about it. If listeners take away just one message from today's conversation, what do you want that message to be?

Speaker 2 50:17

Oh my word, thank you so much for asking that.

Speaker 50:19

But now it's like there's so many messages we want them to take away.

National Women’s Retirement Day Vision

Speaker 2 50:26

Leave your community better off than they were before you came. When you leave, you're going to, they're gonna be better off because you were there. And the only way you can do that is to serve others. And RaiseHear is specifically designed to do that. Yes, in the process, you're gonna get new relationships as a provider, as a professional in this industry. You may get new clients, people that you may not even have access to and don't even realize that there is a huge market out there who needs you. So I believe it is a win-win situation. And if we approach it in a service capacity, that's where it will do its most good in the culture here in America. So please do that first, and then let's all reap the rewards in the end.

Speaker 51:28

Before we wrap up, what final thoughts would you like to share? And how can our listeners get involved and support Racer?

Speaker 2 51:38

Thanks, Shannon, so much for the opportunity to be on your podcast today. My my encouragement is at least take a look at the materials. Go to the ntsa.org website. That is nt ntsa-dash net.org. Dash net.org. Thank you. Sorry about that. I should know that. No, no. As I send it to them, it's in my saved. So ntsa.org. Go there and look at the resources for raise her. First step, just look. Look at the, I mean, it's all done. There are media pieces, uh, social media. There are letters already written of introduction. There is an entire module and a script. You don't have to do anything. Just download it, look at it, and just maybe share it with your family, the ladies in your family first. Just see what kind of impact. Do your own research and prove us wrong. But I have a feeling that what's going to happen is that conversation is going to then just grow and grow because information is king and it's very important, but only if you apply it. So information's there. I would really like people to imply it and prove us wrong first in them in that process. I think what's going to happen is we're all going to reap the rewards.

One Core Message: Serve First

Speaker 53:10

Well, thank you so much, Toni, for being on the show. I've really appreciated it. I've loved our conversation. And I just think this is such an important project. I'm so glad that ARA is involving all of the sister organizations and that ASPA gets to be a part of it. For all the listeners, thank you for tuning in. We will have more information in the show notes about how to get a hold of Toni and how to get more information on Raise Her or how to get more information on NATSA or all of the sister organizations from ARA. As you're listening, if you feel like you have an innovative idea to help us close the gaps in retirement coverage and savings, get a hold of me. I'd love to have you on the podcast. And I hope you listen to the next one. Thank you.