In this episode of The Wave Strength, Pacific Life’s Christine Bass and Brian Galle sit down with Andrew Stumacher from AllianceBernstein to unpack 13 years of evolution in defined contribution lifetime income—and how a multi-insurer, institutionally priced solution is helping increase retirement confidence for participants.

Together they explore how Pacific Life and AllianceBernstein are collaborating to deliver guaranteed lifetime income, help preserve liquidity and offer flexibility, and help participants convert savings into sustainable retirement income for years to come.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• How AllianceBernstein’s custom Lifetime Income Strategy has evolved over 13+ years

• Why a multi-insurer platform (including Pacific Life) can enhance diversification, capacity, and competitive pricing

• How regulatory tailwinds like SECURE 2.0 and a recent U.S. Department of Labor advisory opinion are supporting QDIA-compliant income solutions

• Ways this strategy helps participants address longevity risk and sequence-of-returns risk

• What plan sponsors, advisors, and consultants are asking for today—and why the discussion has shifted from “Why income?” to “How do we implement it?”

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Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction

00:55 – Meet the Panel: Guest Introductions

02:55 – The History of Alliance Bernstein’s Product

04:56 – Evolution of Lifetime Income Solutions

06:40 – Pacific Life & Alliance Bernstein: Partnership for Retirement Confidence

09:16 – Market Changes & Regulatory Updates (SECURE 2.0, DOL Opinion)

12:06 – How the Solution Works: Flexibility, Growth, and Guarantees

15:01 – What Advisors, Plan Sponsors, and Participants Want

18:37 – Impact & Adoption: Success Stories and Metrics

25:31 – The Importance of the DOL Opinion Letter

28:40 – Final Takeaways from Each Guest

30:01 – Closing Remarks & Outro

As Head of Defined Contribution Lifetime Income, Christine is responsible for growing Pacific Life’s visibility in the lifetime income space. Prior to her current appointment, Christine was Head of Specialty Markets where she was responsible for the Institutional Fixed Annuity business. Christine joined Pacific Life in 2022 and has nearly 20 years of experience, across life, annuity, and institutional products in U.S. and international markets.

Brian Galle is a Senior Product Manager at Pacific Life, leading the integration of Lifetime Income solutions into Defined Contribution retirement plans. With over two decades of experience in product management and institutional retirement, Brian drives cross-functional teams to deliver innovative, market-ready solutions that enhance participant outcomes and operational efficiency. His strategic leadership has accelerated Pacific Life’s growth in the DCLI space.

Andrew Stumacher is a Senior Vice President and Managing Director for AB's Customized Defined Contribution Solutions. He is responsible for developing, implementing, and driving the growth of custom target-date, model portfolio, and retirement income strategies for the large and mega-size institutional plan market, in which AB serves as one of the largest managers in the U.S. Stumacher works in close collaboration with plan sponsors, consultants. and external business partners to develop innovative and flexible products to improve outcomes for DC plans and participants. He joined the firm in 2004 as a marketing analyst, focusing on strategy and development for new institutional products. From 2011 to 2017, Stumacher managed the integration of AB's DC products with recordkeepers, trustees, custodians, insurers, and investment managers as the DC partner relationship officer. He holds a BS in applied economics and management from Cornell University and an MBA from Wagner College as well as the Certified Annuity Specialist™ designation from the Institute of Business & Finance.

In this episode of The Wave Strength, host Jim Breen sits down with Major General Spider Marks and Lieutenant General Mike Groen. Our guests share their unique military backgrounds, emphasizing the importance of teamwork, trust, character, and positivity. They also discuss Academy Securities and its mission to help veterans transition to civilian life, leveraging their military training in new careers. The episode also covers the formation of Academy's Geopolitical Intelligence Group, highlighting how their military experiences provide valuable insights for their clients.

In This Episode:

00:00 Introduction

00:48 Meet the Distinguished Guests

01:45 Spider Marks' Military Journey

03:25 Mike Groen's Military Experience

05:16 The Power of Positivity in Service

06:47 Academy Securities: Mission and Impact

12:49 Geopolitical Insights and Differentiation

16:32 Reflections on Military Service

25:19 Final Thoughts

About our Guests

Major General (Ret.) James A. “Spider” Marks is Head of Geopolitical Strategy and Senior Advisory Board Member at Academy Securities. General Marks is the Founder and President of The Marks Collaborative, an advisory for corporate leader development, education and training and has led entrepreneurial efforts in global primary research and national security. He served over 30 years in the Army holding every command position from infantry platoon leader to commanding general and was the senior intelligence officer in the LA Riots, the Balkans, Korea, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He culminated his career as the Commanding General of the US Army Intelligence Center and School at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf cluster, Bronze Star, and multiple combat, expeditionary and service ribbons. General Marks is a Master parachutist, authorized to wear Korean and Canadian Airborne wings, Air Assault qualified, and Honor Graduate of the US Army Ranger School. General Marks is a national security contributor to CNN and member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Michael Groen is an Academy Securities’ Geopolitical Intelligence Group Member as well as an Advisory Board Member. Lieutenant General Groen served over 36 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, culminating his career as the Director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, and the senior executive for AI in the Department of Defense. He previously served at the National Security Agency, overseeing Computer Network Operations, and as the Director of Joint Staff Intelligence (JSJ2), working closely with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Secretary of Defense and Senior Leaders across the Department. Lieutenant General Groen is an experienced Marine commander and multi-tour combat veteran. He is the author of, With the First Marine Division in Iraq, No Greater Friend, No Worse Enemy.

Lieutenant General Groen’s expertise centers on transformative technology and its application in Defense, the Intelligence Community, and the commercial marketplace. He is a skilled advisor, with deep experience in the key roles of process, culture, technology, and ethics. His focus areas include Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Quantum implementation, National Security, and Digital Transformation. He has earned master's degrees in electrical engineering and applied physics from the Naval Postgraduate School. Today, he seeks to inform transformational change in defense technology, intelligence, and information capabilities against the backdrop of expanding definitions of national security and American competitiveness.

Catch the Wave!

• 🌊 The Wave Strength Playlist: https://paclife.co/wave-strength-playlist

• 📺 Shorts Playlist: https://paclife.co/YouTube-shorts
• 🎙 Spotify: https://paclife.co/spotify-the-wave-strength

• 💻 LinkedIn: https://paclife.co/linkedin-institutional-business

In this special episode of The Wave Strength, recorded live from the floor of the 2025 NAPA 401(k) Summit in Las Vegas, Jim sits down with Steve McCoy, CEO of iJoin.

The two discuss the partnership between Pacific Life and iJoin, which brings Pacific Life’s lifetime income solution to iJoin’s national network of record-keepers, and explore the impact of making guaranteed lifetime income more personal and accessible for participants.

Listen in as they explore the evolving needs of advisors, differences between DB and DC participants, the growing need for plan personalization, education, and the future of lifetime income.

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About Steve McCoy

iJoin Chief Executive Officer – Chief Compliance Officer

Steve has more than 25 years of executive and sales-management experience in a variety of industries, including financial services and health care. His particular expertise is in leading organizations through periods of rapid growth, managing large sales and marketing organizations, and capital formation to deploy both organic and inorganic growth strategies. Prior to joining iJoin, Steve was CEO of 3D Asset Management, an independent RIA providing ETF model portfolios, technology and practice-management solutions to fee-based financial advisers. During his tenure as CEO, he led efforts to strengthen and reposition the business, develop an innovative financial technology platform and prepare the firm for a sale. Previously, Steve was Owner and EVP of Accounting Resources, a regional provider of accounting, payroll and insurance services. Having developed and sold the payroll and insurance segments of the business to ADP, Steve currently serves as Board Director capacity for the firm.

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In This Episode: ⁠

00:00⁠ Introduction ⁠

00:59⁠ Meet the Guest ⁠

02:39⁠ Pacific Life & iJoin Partnership ⁠

04:27⁠ Advisor Mindset & Industry Evolution ⁠

06:32⁠ Personalization & Future of Retirement ⁠

09:20⁠ iJoin’s Technology & Engagement ⁠

11:27⁠ Education & Industry Collaboration ⁠

11:52⁠ Closing Remarks

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Be sure to follow us ✅, and rate & review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ our podcast if you enjoy learning about the ways the retirement industry can help plan sponsors and participants achieve improved retirement outcomes.

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Catch the wave!

🌊 The Wave Strength Playlist (YouTube): https://paclife.co/wave-strength-playlist

📺 YouTube Shorts Playlist: https://paclife.co/YouTube-shorts

💻 LinkedIn: https://paclife.co/linkedin-institutional-business

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Topics include: Retirement Solutions, Lifetime Income, 401k, NAPA 2025, Pacific Life, iJoin, Retirement Income, National Association of Plan Advisors