The Employer Risk Equation: Â Managing Financial, Fiduciary & Workforce RiskÂ
Join us live, in-person for exceptional education on more than just employee benefits. As important, is the financial periphery, including the employer risk equation: managing financial, fiduciary and workforce risk across retirement and employee benefits.Â
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Our engaging and accredited Annual Forum will be presented by expert faculty, delivering usable guidance for these symbiotic HR and Finance  situations:Â
Unlocking the Strategic Value of Captive Insurance to Finance Employer Risk
As captives gain momentum, employers are learning that their real value goes well beyond pricing stability. Captives function as regulated insurance entities, which means new financial statements, accounting standards, regulatory filings, and IRS reporting that directly influence risk management decisions.
Join Andy Rhea, President of Align Risk Solutions, to learn how captive insurance companies work, the value and effectiveness of employee benefit captives, as well as corporate considerations. Understanding these elements is essential for HR and benefits leaders who partner with Finance, advisors, and captive boards. This session explains how captive financial reporting differs from traditional funding arrangements, what information employers should expect, how regulatory and IRS scrutiny has increased, and how HR leaders can confidently participate in governance discussions without needing deep accounting expertise.
Rethinking the 401(k) Match for Better Outcomes
Employers are increasingly looking for ways to reduce costs while not penalizing their employees. Advances in recordkeeping technology have provided employers with more flexibility to explore alternative retirement contribution structures. Specifically, tiered match and tenure-based contributions are often better at encouraging the behaviors that employers are looking for: higher savings rates and employee tenure.
Join Andrew Zito, SVP Retirement Plan Advisor, Advus Partners, as he discusses innovative contribution structures and how they can be more beneficial than traditional contributions. He will also discuss how recent legislation changes – including SECURE 2.0 – can impact employer contributions as well.Â
401(k) Financial Wellness: Driving Engagement and Retirement Readiness
Financial wellness has become a core component of total rewards strategy, and the 401(k) is often the most significant financial benefit employers offer. Yet many organizations struggle with low engagement, underutilized employer matches, and employee confusion around plan design, tax treatment and investment basics. Â
 Join Mitch Lamoriello, VP Wealth Advisor at Advus Partners, to learn how the 401(k) can serve as a powerful financial wellness tool, driving higher engagement, clearer employee understanding and better retirement outcomes. This session covers practical strategies for plan design, education and communication, along with the impact of recent regulatory changes including SECURE 2.0.Â
The Specialty Rx Cost Curve & How Employers Rein in Soaring Drug Spend with Reference-Based Pricing
Specialty medications, from biologics and gene therapies to oncology treatments and GLP 1 drugs, now consume a growing share of employer pharmacy budgets. Traditional PBM and network pricing models offer limited protection and often lack transparency. Â
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Greg Santulli, CEO of Rx Valet, and Matt McCuen, National Executive at Imagine360, share why specialty drug costs are accelerating and how reference-based pricing (RBP) helps employers regain control. This session explains why traditional models fall short and how RBP introduces clearer benchmarks, more predictable payments and better cost oversight. They will cover where RBP fits in a broad specialty cost strategy, how it differs from PPO pricing and what employers should consider when evaluating and communicating an RBP approach.
Peer Group Discussion | Converging Risk: Employers’ Financial Exposures in Retirement & Benefits Programs
As costs rise, regulations tighten and litigation accelerates, organizations are realizing that retirement and health plan risks can no longer be managed in separate silos.Â
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Hear practical insights from a panel of Central Florida executives as they explore the growing financial and fiduciary risks facing employers that sponsor both 401(k) plans and employee benefits programs. This peer discussion focuses on how leaders in HR, benefits, Finance and risk are aligning governance structures, redefining ownership of financial risk, improving data visibility, and building decision frameworks across both retirement and health and welfare programs.Â
Expand your horizons to learn, network and earn CE credits with our power strategies for the employer risk equation.Â


