SURVEY SAYS: Additional Time Needed in a Day

There’s often not enough time in the day to get everything we want or need to get done, or to get enough sleep.

Last week, I asked NewsDash readers, “How many hours would you add to the 24-hour day to get everything you want or need to get done, and how would you spend those hours?”

Slightly more than 18% of responding readers said they needed 6 hours, while 16.4% said they needed none. Three hours was chosen by 16.4% of respondents; 14.5% selected 2; and 12.7% chose 4. Nine percent said they needed 5 extra hours, 7.3% need more than 6 and 5.4% just need 1.

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Sleep was the activity for spending that extra time chosen by the majority (63.5%) of respondents, followed by spending time with family (36.5%) and reading and household chores (both tied at 30.8%). One-quarter of readers said they would spend that extra time on their hobby, and 21.1% each said they would spend time with friends and spend time volunteering or on special projects. More than one in ten readers (11.5%) said they would spend the extra time catching up on TV shows and movies, and 5.8% would work.

One-quarter of responding readers chose “other.” Many of those respondents said the extra hours would be just “me time.” Other responses included exercising, playing games, crafting and spending time with pets.

Among readers who left comments, quite a few said it is not an issue of needing more time in the day, but prioritizing what deserves or needs to be spent doing. Other readers suggested adding more time just wouldn’t work because others would just demand more, or as one reader said, “It is just like a raise, the more you have the more you spend, so I don’t think extra hours would work!” I have to give a shout out to the reader who said: “Tell my boss I need more time to read PLANSPONSOR and all the useful news!” Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said: “Gee, if I didn’t have to work, the length of the day would be just perfect.” 

Thanks to all who participated in the survey!

Verbatim 

I would probably add 6 hours. 2 for sleeping and 4 for hobbies and interests I don't get to explore, in part because there's not enough time in a day.

Time management has always been a personal challenge. All the electronic distractions don't help things.

I hope I wouldn't spend any more of this time working!!! Or commuting!

I would not add hours to the day. I would propose the calendar be changed to add a whole new day to give us an 8 day week. That would be a 3 day weekend every week?! The extra day would be a weekend day so that during the work week I would not have to worry about catching up on home activities and would still work the long hours without feeling as guilty.

I wouldn't add time for anything but sleep. I always seem to find the time to work, do chores, etc. it is sleep that loses out. If I had more time I'd only use it for sleep.

I'm fairly organized, so just one hour to devote to doing things that I would like to do, but just don't have enough time to do.

By the time I get home from work, exercise, cook dinner, and do the dishes I'm pooped! If I try to read, my eyes are closed within 2 minutes! I'd add more hours for sleeping so I can read.

This is, of course, a silly question because we are not adding more hours to a 24-hour day. But your list in question 2 could help people prioritize what's important enough to them to fit within the astronomically determined period we call a day.

If only I had the extra hours I would use it to sleep, but if everyone had them I would say no thanks. That would just mean that people would find 6 more hours of things for me to do each day and I can't imagine how tired I would be in that scenario.

I need to find another person to delegate to, that should free up some time!

Americans simply work too much, and employers feel entitled to too much of our time.

It is just like a raise, the more you have the more you spend, so I don't think extra hours would work!

I plan to expand my available hours in a day by retiring soon!

I work 10-12 hour days, commute at least 60 minutes most days and get about 5 hours of sleep a night. A little more time to sleep and relax would help immensely and then maybe I wouldn't be so crabby all the time!

The extra hours need to be added to the 6-10 pm hours.

Verbatim (cont.)  

I would like to do more to remove things from my daily life which may be considered unimportant and non-essential.

Are you insane? Adding more hours to the day means your boss just adds more to do.

It's not so much about adding in hours. What's more important is a firm partition between personal relax time and time for everything else.

I keep asking my wife for an 8th day that no one else knows about.

I don't think we necessary need more hours in a day. I just wish I didn't need to sleep 8 hours to be fully productive. I am currently studying for my CPA, so having any additional time to study and be productive vs. sleeping would be awesome.

Not sure it really would make a difference to add hours to the day. It's human nature (in the U.S. anyway) to work too many hours and not spend enough time with family!

Currently working 10+ hour day, leaving no time for volunteering, working out, etc. I keep saying I'll change my priorities, but work then piles up.

We need to slow down and enjoy life more instead of running from one thing to the next. Life is too short.

Tell my boss I need more time to read PLANSPONSOR and all the useful news!

Somehow we need to change expectations regarding just how much we need to get done in a day! Let's give ourselves and each other a break!

I don't need more hours in the day. I need more staff to help do the work!

Gee, if I didn't have to work, the length of the day would be just perfect.

If there were more hours in the day, they would probably be claimed for working. I spend enough time doing that already. If there aren't enough hours in the day, the answer is not to add more hours, but to reduce the things we are committed to. Less not more!

I wish that the extended hours would also include extended daylight.

Presently attempting to rid my life of those activities that have no meaning or purpose, such as useless meetings, Facebook, fluff work, etc. Have a good day.

NOTE: Responses reflect the opinions of individual readers and not necessarily the stance of Asset International or its affiliates.

Retirement Industry People Moves

Ascensus acquires Retirement Educators; LGIMA expands U.S. Active Fixed Income team; MassMutual hires Taft-Hartley relationship manager; and more.

Ascensus Acquires Retirement Educators

Ascensus, an independent retirement and college-savings services provider, has acquired Retirement Educators to offer enhanced support to its plan sponsor partners and the financial institutions it serves.

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“We’re pleased to announce the acquisition of Retirement Educators, Inc., and are excited to welcome their team members to our family and expand our retirement plan education and enrollment support services,” says Shannon Kelly, Ascensus’ president of retirement. “Retirement Educators shares our commitment to helping more Americans save for a comfortable retirement, and we look forward to their contribution to our future growth.”

Ascensus has specialized in providing its clients with training, education and enrollment-support services in the retirement plan and health care markets for more than 40 years. Operating throughout the country for more than 20 years, Retirement Educators has serviced large plan providers as well as broker-dealers, asset management firms, and third-party administrators. The company also offers bilingual support and provides translation services for presentation and educational materials.

“Our presenters are results-oriented and specialize in understanding the unique needs of our clients and the employers and participants they support,” says Rob Kelley, president of Retirement Educators. “We’re pleased to combine our firm’s talent and experience with Ascensus’ resources and retirement industry expertise to offer best-in-class retirement plan education services.”

NEXT: LGIMA Expands U.S. Active Fixed Income team

LGIMA Expands U.S. Active Fixed Income team

Jordan Bond has joined Legal & General Investment Management America (LGIMA) as the firm’s senior portfolio manager for the U.S. Active Fixed Income team. He will be responsible for trading the banking and financial sectors for the U.S. Active Fixed Income team, which currently manages more than $57 billion in fixed-income strategies.

Bond brings more than 16 years of financial services experience to LGIMA. He most recently served as vice president, portfolio manager at PIMCO, where he was a member of a team responsible for managing investment grade assets across the firm. Previously, he spent eight years as a senior consultant with Morgan Stanley.

“Jordan brings substantial experience to LGIMA and we are thrilled to welcome him to our team,” says John Bender, CIO of U.S. Fixed Income. “We are excited about the significant impact Jordan will make in helping to drive meaningful investment results for our clients.”

NEXT: MassMutual Hires Taft-Hartley Relationship Manager

MassMutual Hires Taft-Hartley Relationship Manager

Bill Boyle has joined Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance (MassMutual) as a Taft-Hartley relationship manager serving the Western United Sates. He will join a team of more than 100 relationship managers helping plan sponsors serve their participants. Along with seven other individuals, he will join the Taft-Harley team dedicated to helping consultants, financial advisers, plan sponsors, participants, trustees, and others in the defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) industries across the country.

“We’re excited to have Bill join our Taft-Hartley team to provide local support and deepen our relationships with our clients in the Western part of the United States,” says Joe Carmignani, head of MassMutual’s Taft-Hartley Relationship Management team. “Located in California, Bill will help us grow the MassMutual brand and expand our relationships with advisers, trustees, consultants and other retirement plan professionals.”

Before joining MassMutual, Boyle was vice president and account executive at Associated Third Party Administrators, where he focused on Taft-Hartley plans. His eight years of experience in the Taft-Hartley marketplace has seen him serve many roles in DC, DB, health and welfare plans.

Boyle graduated from the University of California at Berkeley.

“As MassMutual continues to grow its Taft-Hartley business, we continue to add resources to our team,” says Doug DeNigris, Taft-Hartley practice leader. "In the last two years we have expanded the team and in doing so we have continued to increase our coverage to other parts of the country while hiring talented people with different service backgrounds. In joining us from ATPA, Bill brings a wealth of experience in defined contributions, defined benefit, and health and welfare plan administration, which complements our team’s capabilities.”

NEXT: Lincoln Financial Expands Retirement Business with Three Industry Veterans

Lincoln Financial Expands Retirement Business with Three Industry Veterans

Lincoln Financial Group has hired Carolyn Bremer, Rusty McGiboney and John Killoy to enhance its Participant Engagement and Relationship Management teams across its Retirement Plan Services business. They will work to build and strengthen the firm’s relationships with participants and plan sponsors in order to help drive positive retirement outcomes.

“We are thrilled that Carolyn, Rusty and John have joined the organization,” says Aaron Moore, JD, head of Relationship Management and Participant Engagement for Lincoln Financial. “Each one of them has a distinguished track record of success, and we look forward to tapping their industry knowledge and deep, relevant experience that will increase the overall strength of our teams and result in better outcomes for our clients.”

Bremer joins Lincoln as assistant vice president and relationship management director. She will be responsible for leading a team of nine relationship managers in the Northeast Region, who are focused on building strong relationships with plan sponsors. Before joining Lincoln Financial, Bremer served as regional vice president of Client Relationship Management for Transamerica Retirement Solutions, where she led six teams of client executives within the emerging, middle and large markets.

McGiboney has also been named assistant vice president and relationship management director. He will be tasked with leading a team of six relationship managers in the Southeast Region. He joins Lincoln Financial from The Newport Group, where he held the position of vice president of Retirement Services. That role saw him lead the client services team, which consisted of account management, conversions and ERISA consulting. He also built the company’s Relationship Management model.

Killoy joins Lincoln from Transamerica Retirement Solutions, where he was assistant vice president and West Region Retirement Consultant director for the Participant Engagement team. Killoy has worked closely with client management, sales, plan design, plan administration and participant engagement.

“Leading a Lincoln team of 16 retirement consultants, John will provide leadership, direction and expertise to ensure we are delivering a world-class participant experience nationally,” says James Thompson, assistant vice president, managing director and head of the Retirement Consultant Channel. “Retirement consultants are a key part of Lincoln’s high-touch model, building strong one-on-one relationships with participants and providing education on retirement issues.”

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