On July 27, 2011, Lisa Mensah, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS) participated in a panel discussion at the PROTECT 2011: Workplace Benefits and Financial Security symposium. The event, co-hosted by the Financial Services Roundtable, American Savings Education Council, and the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security, focused on the importance of insuring against risk and protecting financial assets during difficult economic times. The event was held at the Newseum in Washington, DC.
Moderated by Tim Murphy, President & CEO of Investors Capital, Mensah’s panel also featured Kevin Keller, President & CEO of CFP Board; Lisa Germano, National CPA Financial Literacy Commission, AICPA; and Robert Stammers, Director of Investor Education at the CFA Institute. Panelists delved into the challenges facing individuals in protecting their assets over the course of a lifetime, including their human capital, and discussed the role insurance can play in strengthening household financial security. Mensah emphasized that while most people discuss the fragility of the build-up side of savings, the spend-down phase plays an equally important role in protecting assets.
