Pension plan de-risking continues to evolve, and plan sponsors are facing new decisions about how best to manage volatility, support participants, and strengthen long-term plan health. In this session, our experts will walk through the current landscape of de-risking strategies, share insights from recent sponsor activity, and highlight practical considerations that can help plan fiduciaries make informed, confident decisions. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of today’s trends, participant behavior patterns, and the operational factors that can influence outcomes.
About the Speakers
Monica Gallagher, Administration Practice Founder, October Three Consulting
Monica Gallagher is a partner at October Three and the Practice Leader of O3’s Pension Administration Services team. Monica joined October Three in 2014 with over 25 years of retirement plan experience. Monica began her career in the pension administration business working for Hewitt Associates in Lincolnshire, IL. During her 15 years at Hewitt, Monica managed and supported a wide variety of clients through the evolution of DB administration solutions from insourced to co-sourced to fully outsourced. She then moved to New York and worked for PWC for 3 years managing the outsourced pension administration services for a Fortune 10 company. Upon moving to Jacksonville, FL, in 2001, Monica joined CitiStreet, now known as Voya Financial. Monica held a number of senior roles at Voya and in 2009 was asked to manage and lead the pension administration services group. As the DB Admin Practice Leader for October Three, Monica is responsible for overseeing client service delivery including overall operations, relationship management, strategy and direction, financial and risk management, as well as implementation of new business. In addition, Monica co-chairs October Three’s Business Technology Steering Committee which is responsible for developing and implementing October Three’s technology roadmap. Monica is a strong relationship builder, a creative problem solver, and brings vast experience in managing complex retirement plans. She is passionate about growing the pension administration business at October Three, especially expanding its client group of market-based cash balance plans under administration.
Cort Raithel, Pension Administration Practice Leader, October Three Consulting
Cort Raithel is a partner at October Three and the Practice Leader of O3’s Pension Administration Services team. Cort joined October Three in 2025 with over 25 years of retirement plan experience. Cort began his career in the defined benefit industry working in the actuarial consulting office for Towers Perrin in Boston, MA. Cort consulted with clients as they transitioned from traditional pension plans to cash balance plans, using technology and proprietary tools to illustrate impacts to participants and plan sponsors .He then joined Fidelity Investments, where he founded the data consulting practice. Cort’s new practice assisted clients with moving their data from insourced pension administration to fully outsourced administration with Fidelity. Cort became an industry leader in pension data quality. After relocating to Jacksonville, FL, in 2006, Cort joined CitiStreet, now known as Voya Financial. Cort managed several teams as the data management practice leader, supporting clients with the administration of their defined benefit, defined contribution, and health plans. Just prior to joining October Three, Cort was the head of defined benefit administration at Transamerica for over 10 years. Under his leadership, Transamerica grew to a top ten defined benefit administration provider. As the DB Admin Practice Leader for October Three, Cort is responsible for overseeing participant and plan operations, new client onboarding, and system configuration. In addition, Cort champions initiatives to improve customer satisfaction and drive efficiencies across teams. Cort works collaboratively with actuaries and consultants to support administrative solutions for October Three clients. He is passionate about educating participants on the importance of lifetime retirement income and helping clients demonstrate the value of their retirement programs.
Jim Seidel, Plan Administration De-Risking Leader, October Three Consulting
Jim Seidel is a Partner within the benefit plan administration practice. He has nearly 25 years of experience helping clients administer their defined benefit, defined contribution, and health plans. Jim has worked with clients of all sizes, ranging from as little as 100 participants to Fortune 100 companies with more than 100,000 participants. He is driven by helping clients simplify their benefits management and allowing participants to understand the value of their plan. Before joining October Three, Jim previously worked as a Vice President at J.P. Morgan and Relationship Manager at CBIZ Retirement Plan Services. He has experience in almost all plan administration aspects, specifically project management, automation, and process redesign. Jim has held numerous roles, including implementation, pension payroll, benefit calculations, data management, system development, and relationship management. He also has vast experience managing benefit projects, including lump sum windows, data cleanup, plan corrections, early retirement windows, benefit statements and plan terminations..
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