Ascensus Announces Leadership Appointment and Next Evolution of State-Facilitated Retirement Program Business

Adds Veteran Industry Executive Scott Parry and Launches Platform to Improve Employer Experience

DRESHER, Pa., July 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascensus—whose technology and expertise helps millions of people save for retirement, education, and healthcare—recently completed two major steps to continue revolutionizing its state-facilitated retirement program business. 

The company announced the appointment of Scott Parry as senior vice president of the company's state-facilitated retirement programs (SFRP) business. He will report directly to Peg Creonte, president of Government Savings.

Parry is responsible for managing all aspects of Ascensus' state-facilitated retirement plan business, which administers state auto-IRA programs that are quickly rolling out across the country. Ascensus was the first company to administer a state auto-IRA program, and currently administers CalSavers and Illinois Secure Choice, which together recently surpassed 382,300 funded IRAs from 104,900 participating employers, maintaining Ascensus' status as the largest provider in the quickly growing market*.

Parry joined Ascensus from Citizens Wealth Management where he led several digital transformation initiatives and brings more than 20 years of experience in the retirement industry to his new role at Ascensus. He has held senior roles including General Manager of Ameritrade Retirement Services, EVP of FIS Retirement Services, CEO of Aon Hewitt Financial Advisors, and President of Reliance Trust.

"We're pleased to welcome Scott to our leadership team, as his decades of financial services and innovation experience will be instrumental in helping our SFRP participants," said Creonte. "He shares our passion for building solutions to the retirement savings gap, and he is joining at a critical juncture as we grow our auto-IRA plans by thousands of employers each month."

Parry's onboarding is timely, as Ascensus' SFRP business recently launched a redesigned Employer Portal for CalSavers and Illinois Secure Choice SFRPs. The new platform improves navigation within an updated, modern design, streamlines the registration process for new employers, and reduces friction during the onboarding process to improve program facilitation. Additional features focus on employee roster management by simplifying the ways in which employers upload and manage employee information and supporting technical integrations to allow for better payroll vendor support.

"This release marks another major milestone in Ascensus' efforts to improve the employer experience," notes Creonte. "As the first-mover and leader in this growing market, Ascensus has leveraged learnings and key insights developed from working collaboratively with our partners, participating employers, and behavioral experts in developing a platform that effectively serves the needs of employers of all sizes. Our research clearly shows that creating a supportive, frictionless employer experience will increase adoption rates, positively impacting millions of people who previously lacked access to retirement savings plans." 

*as of 6/30/2022

About Ascensus
Ascensus is a market-leading enabler of tax-advantaged savings—providing technology, services, and expertise that help more than 15 million people save for retirement, education, and healthcare.

We are a premier savings program service provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator. Our platforms, industry knowledge, and data-based insights enhance the growth and success of our partners, their clients, and savers through co-branded, private-labeled, and governmental partnerships.

Ascensus offers comprehensive qualified and non-qualified retirement plan solutions, third-party retirement plan administration, 529 education and ABLE savings program administration, health savings and COBRA administration, corporate- and bank-owned life insurance solutions, and fiduciary and total rewards services.

The company's brands include Ascensus; Newport, an Ascensus company; PAi, an Ascensus company; and FuturePlan by Ascensus. Ascensus has more than $745 billion in assets under administration and employs more than 5,500 associates as of March 31, 2022.

For more information, visit ascensus.com and newportgroup.com.

SOURCE Ascensus