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 Thank you, Cynthia, and thank you for sharing your research. And to all
of you, welcome again, and thank you for giving your time and energies to this
important Summit.
Cynthia’s findings give us one more indication how the future for Americans
is being shaped by what people do, and don’t do – and what they know, and
don’t know -- about saving for retirement. It’s clear that people need
our help, through meaningful education and practical strategies to save.
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But we are here not just to talk about the problem, but to get something
done.
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Over the next two days, you, as Summit Delegates, will be directly,
personally involved in creating the action plans for a new national outreach on
retirement savings. In just a few minutes, we will break our group into
four teams, each of them targeting a different generation of Americans.
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I hope the video we’ve seen has helped put some faces to these generations
for you. More detailed information about all four generations is available
in your resource package. In addition, each breakout team will receive a
special briefing about the generation it has been assigned.
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Right now, I’d like to say a little bit about what we are looking for, from
you.
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First, we want your ideas. Share with us, share with each other, what
you see as the most important, compelling messages for your target audience.
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As successful leaders in this country’s most important institutions, this
group of Delegates has invaluable expertise. We need your perspectives and your
participation.
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Second, in thinking about your messages, aim not only to educate, but to
persuade.
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Experts tell us that to change people’s behavior, a message won’t simply
change what people know. It will change what people do. And this
requires messages that resonate with the values, behaviors, pursuits and
concerns of your target audience.
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Of course, every group is diverse, and that includes the generations we are
trying to reach. It’s also true that there are no hard-and-fast lines
between generations. But each generation we target here has been carefully
chosen because its members do share some important commonalities, based both on
shared experiences and a shared life-stage.
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For example, I know I share with many of my fellow Boomers a sense of
optimism. It is an outgrowth of many things that took place during our
formative years – particularly, the revolutionary movements for civil rights
and women’s rights, and remarkable achievements like the moon landing. At the
same time, we share other perspectives because of the life-stage we are in right
now – the caregiving, family and career issues of 40- and 50-year-olds.
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Other generations have very different experiences and different life-stage
issues. So, for example, the Gen Xers, who entered the job market in
difficult times, tend to show a pragmatic survivor mentality. And they
find themselves at a life-stage that most Boomers have already passed through,
one of building families and careers.
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As Secretary Chao said this morning, if we are going to be credible and
relevant about retirement saving, we need to speak to people where they are.
That is exactly what this Summit is designed to do. As your team develops
its action plans, Ask yourselves: are we speaking effectively to this
generation? Will what we are saying resonate with their lives and
concerns? Does our message, literally, “speak their language”?
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Third, think about the vehicles and context as well as the message. If
we do our job well, we will end up with real action plans – ready to
implement. That means plans that include:
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the best approaches for
delivering your messages;
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possible partners for delivering
your messages;
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potential barriers to hearing
and understanding your messages – and how to overcome those barriers;
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specific steps for implementing
the action plans;
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and how we will measure the
action plans’ success.
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Lastly, please – think big.
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Mark Twain once said that “Necessity is the mother of … taking
chances.” Well, I can’t think of anything more necessary than our work
today. So, do feel free to take some chances … be creative … and
don’t hesitate to contribute your ideas.
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I’m very excited to be part of an enterprise that has so much potential for
getting something done. We have the right people and the right tools to
succeed.
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And we need to be successful. A lot of people are depending on us. On their behalf, thank you.
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Ladies
and Gentlemen, we have reached the conclusion of the 2002 National Summit on
Retirement Savings.
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Your
work here has been tremendous, and I want to pause for a moment to give you my
heartfelt thanks for your time and effort. I recognize how valuable your
time is, and know that the action plans that have been developed would only be
possible with your input.
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I also
want to thank:
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The Members of Congress who shared their perspectives with us over the last few
days and helped us identify all of you as delegates;
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The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, especially Mary Jost and
Tom Conger;
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My colleagues at the Labor Department who worked so hard these past months to
make this event a reality, especially Paul Zurawski, Julie Roberts, and Sharon
Watson and her team -- Shelley Hymes and her staff, -- and the many others
you’ve seen this week, too numerous to name;
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Our facilitators and guest speakers, and finally, the
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Capital Hilton hotel staff.
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Everyone
involved worked very hard on this, and deserve a round of applause!
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The
wealth of ideas and recommendations generated over the past two days will be
compiled and provided in a report to the President and to Congress, as well as
to you delegates.
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I
believe the report will prove invaluable to lawmakers and the Administration as
we work to encourage savings and increase retirement security.
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Like
other challenging public policy issues, retirement savings is a moving target.
As our demographic and economic realities change, so must our approach to
retirement.
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Lawmakers
and regulators can do many things to help as our retirement systems evolve…
and everyone here in this room will be part of educating those government
officials when they make policy…
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But the
greatest challenge is not legislative… it’s a challenge of leadership.
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We
can’t rely solely on Congress or the President to change the culture, the
attitude toward retirement savings. That task cannot be accomplished without an
enormous group effort, and without the leadership of many, many people.
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So
remember that you are those leaders.
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I urge you to use all of the tools you have at your
disposal to communicate with your colleagues and your employees, your
friends and families about saving for the future. Write op-eds for your
local and national newspapers and remain alert for other media
opportunities. Give speeches, grant interviews.
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Keep your passion for these issues, and share that
passion.
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Shout your knowledge from the rooftops.
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For we must inspire.
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It is our duty to inspire older generations to save
aggressively, that it’s not too late.
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And, to manage their assets wisely – so that they last
a lifetime.
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It is our duty to inspire younger generations to make
saving a priority in a way that it may not have been for their parents and
grandparents.
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And it is our responsibility to actually change the
culture for future generations… to make individual retirement saving and
investment as natural an event as buying a car is today.
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Don’t underestimate your own ability to cause a ripple
effect in your own community of work, family and friends.
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Our 2002 Summit is over. But I know that our education
and ideas on retirement savings will continue to flow.Let’s leave with the
goal of returning for the next Summit in 2006 with measurable improvements
in retirement savings.
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Thank you all again for your work here this week, and
have safe trips home.
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