As you plan for your estate, one important decision you’ll have to make will be your choice of trustee. This is also often one of the most challenging choices.

Your trustee holds legal title to the assets in your trust and has a responsibility to act in the best interests of the trust beneficiaries. They must follow the instructions in the trust document as well as the rules laid out by state and federal laws. Unlike a personal representative or executor who may serve for one to two years, a trustee may serve for a much longer term.

If you have a revocable trust, you will probably serve as trustee during your life, but you will also need to name a successor to take over after you die or if you become incapacitated. Many people wonder if they should choose a family member or close friend, or whether they will be better off with a professional trustee. Each of these options has its advantages and disadvantages.

Choosing Family or Friends as Trustees

A family member or friend may be more likely to understand your wishes and family dynamics. In addition, a family member may charge little or no fee. At the same time, they may lack the skills to carry out this role. If there are disagreements between the trustee and the beneficiaries, family relationships can be strained.

If the trustee is also a beneficiary, then the trust must be carefully drafted to avoid any adverse income or estate tax consequences. Finally, if the trust is intended to last for generations, the trustee will need a successor, or successors, to take over in the event of death or disability.

Choosing a Corporate or Professional Trustee

A corporate or professional trustee will have the expertise to manage the trust and handle the administrative details. In addition, they can deal objectively and unemotionally with the beneficiaries. A corporate trustee will not die, which provides continuity.

One drawback is that a corporate trustee may charge a fee, while a family member may not. Furthermore, the trustee may not know your beneficiaries very well and may act more conservatively than you would have intended. However, this may be less of a factor if you choose a trustee with whom you have a relationship so that they understand your wishes and can carry them out.

Making the Decision

Your decision will depend on a variety of factors. In some cases, especially if the trust is large, grantors will name a family member and a corporate trustee as co-trustees to get the best of both worlds.

It is also important to consider the goals of the trust, along with its size, expected duration, and the types of assets it will hold. For example, a complicated trust that is expected to last for generations may mean that a professional trustee is more suitable. You should also consider whether you have an individual in mind whom you can trust completely, and how they would negotiate family dynamics.

As you make this decision, pay attention to some of the provisions in your trust that relate to your trustees. You may think some of the sections in the back of the trust are unimportant or are standard, boilerplate language, but these sections can have significant consequences. Read them and know what they entail.

You should review who has the power to remove trustees and appoint successors after your death. If you have multiple trustees, the trust should specify how decisions are made when trustees disagree. If you do choose a family member or friend, the trust should give that individual the authority to hire professionals to assist them.

Ultimately, your choice of trustee is a personal decision, and there is no one right answer for everyone. For this reason, it is important that you take the time to make this decision thoughtfully and intentionally. By making your wishes regarding your successor clear, you can help clear the path to a smooth transition for your beneficiaries.

It is common for businesses and nonprofit organizations to have large asset pools, like cash or operating reserves, that aren’t yet designated for a specific goal or need. Often, these asset pools have been set aside as rainy-day funds and have grown over time beyond their necessary size. Properly managed, these pools can swell to be a source of capital growth for an organization, but a surprising number of institutional asset pools (IAPs) remain highly conservative when they could be growing.

Typically, IAPs are managed by either an organization’s internal investment committee or a third-party advisor. In both scenarios, the portfolio manager aims to maximize earning power so that the asset pools are not losing value or simply sitting stagnant without growth.

For example, consider a privately owned business that has recently accumulated quite a bit of cash after two consecutive quarters of strong sales. The owners want to keep the money accessible to the company but are also interested in taking advantage of a current market dip to grow their assets over time. In this case, they may choose to manage the funds themselves, investing in stocks, bonds, and other assets of their own choosing, or assign management to an independent advisor.

Depending on the type of organization and the state in which it operates, each institution may or may not be subject to legal regulations regarding fiduciary responsibilities. But even if the organization falls outside the legal definition of a fiduciary, companies still have an ethical responsibility to their constituents to manage assets prudently, says Grant Verhaeghe, CAPTRUST senior director of institutional portfolios.

“Any person who works as a steward of an organization’s assets should be thinking about and learning best practices for institutional asset pool management,” Verhaeghe says. For institutions that use an internal investment committee for asset management, here are some best practices to consider.

Consider Investment

When considering whether to invest institutional asset pools, there is no one-size-fits-all threshold or standard investment strategy, says Verhaeghe. “Depending on the organization’s unique goals and liquidity needs, each one will use these pools differently and have different objectives,” he says.

Eric Bailey, head of CAPTRUST’s endowment and foundation practice, agrees: “The threshold will be different for every organization, but in general, if you think your organization could be earning a material amount of money through investment, then it’s a good idea to talk about investment strategies so you can put existing IAPs to work.”

For example, Bailey says, imagine a business has something like $10 million sitting on its balance sheet in a variety of places, currently earning zero dollars. Through investment, this business could potentially earn a return on its cash reserves. “Even small amounts can make a material difference to annual profit-and-loss statements,” he says. “The company could then deploy those earnings on a discretionary basis, for instance as bonuses or by hiring more people.”

What’s key is understanding both the upside potential and risks involved in IAP investment so that the organization can make informed decisions with appropriate short- and long-term perspectives.

Account for Time Horizons

Another best practice for IAP management is to consider time horizons for invested assets, or how quickly you might need to deploy the capital. Some asset pools will need to be spent in the next month; others in the next one to three years; and still others can sit in waiting for a longer period. Which asset pools will be good candidates for investment depends on the organization’s cash-flow needs and vulnerabilities.

As Bailey says, “One of the keys to managing IAPs is matching the money to the right time horizon to create the right investment strategy.”

A nonprofit, he says, may need a larger rainy-day fund of liquid assets that are easily accessible and safely stored, just in case donations diminish or the organization doesn’t receive a particular grant they were used to receiving. “These reserves are typically managed conservatively, with capital preservation at center of mind,” says Bailey. “They need to be liquid, safe, and readily available. But asset pools with longer time horizons may be good options for a little more risk, and you may potentially see a higher rate of return.”

Manage Risk

Evaluating how much risk to take with your IAPs depends on how a market decline would affect your organization both now and in the long-term future. Again, each institution will be unique. “The important piece is to fully consider the implications of potential growth or potential loss before you make IAP investment decisions,” says Bailey.

For example, Bailey says, consider a healthcare organization—a hospital that has issued municipal bonds to upgrade its equipment. The bond underwriters give the hospital a credit rating based on its debt, and the hospital will have debt covenants it must meet. “If investments drop too far in value because of a market decline, the hospital can be downgraded by credit rating agencies. This downgrade could cost the organization additional interest expense in future bond issuances or make their bonds less desirable,” he says.

A publicly traded company, on the other hand, will need to consider how investment gains and losses may impact its quarterly earnings statements and, therefore, its stock value.

“Investments on a balance sheet are naturally going to go up and down over time,” Bailey says, “and those changes will flow through to impact other areas of the organization. The critical element is understanding what areas will be impacted and how so that you can make the best possible decisions.”

At times, an investment committee or financial advisor may be managing institutional assets that have liabilities attached. In this case, Verhaeghe recommends organizations create risk models that explain the conditions under which it may be appropriate to take risk, and when it is not. Factors to consider include when the money will be needed, what the expected return will be, and how much risk the organization is able and willing to take.

Document the Process

“Regardless of whether the organization is considered a fiduciary, it’s a good idea to follow a sound process around your investment decisions and document each step,” says Verhaeghe. “That way, if anyone ever asks questions about what you chose or why you chose it, you have the answers.”

These answers may include articulating the organization’s financial needs, goals, and vulnerabilities; documenting practices in an investment policy statement; gathering regular reporting statements; or revisiting goals as the facts and circumstances change over time, Verhaeghe says.

“No two institutions are the same,” says Bailey, “There are dozens of different variables that will impact how each organization should be investing.” For instance, whereas a retirement plan will have a long-term time horizon and specific goal as it relates to each participant or beneficiary, a small, privately owned business may have the goal to maintain purchasing power of its operating reserves and potentially grow that purchasing power over time.

By following these practices, organizations that are independently managing their IAPs can deliver on their fiduciary responsibilities, whether legally mandated or not. However, for organizations that want assistance, managing institutional asset pools is an easy add-on to a trusted relationship with an existing financial advisor. Whichever path these institutions choose, they can be sure they are engaging in healthy financial practices to ensure long-term viability and, potentially, a healthy return as well.

The passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act introduced a range of retirement plan enhancements designed to bolster financial security for American workers. So far, however, most of its optional provisions are seeing minimal uptake. Taken at face value, slow uptake may seem discouraging, but it does not mean the act isn’t having an impact on improving financial wellness. Consider SECURE 2.0 as part of a bigger financial wellness snowball instead. Its power is likely to grow over time, especially as it converges with other financial technologies and trends.

“The lightbulb is turning on,” says Mike Webb, CAPTRUST senior manager of plan consulting. “Employers are thinking: There are so many other ways I can look out for people financially, beyond just pay and a retirement plan.” SECURE 2.0 helped kickstart those conversations and bring them into the spotlight.

Different Offering, Equal Impact

“Uptake of optional provisions is just one part of the story,” says Audrey Wheat, CAPTRUST senior manager of vendor analysis and strategic relations. “First, there are a number of mandatory provisions for which we can assume universal uptake. Second, it’s important to point out that plan sponsors and their vendor-partners are also exploring other avenues to offer financial wellness features outside the plan itself.”

For example, one optional provision offers the ability for employers to establish emergency savings accounts within retirement plans. These accounts allow non-highly compensated employees to contribute up to $2,500 of after-tax dollars.

Wheat says the overall sentiment about this provision is that’s its overly complicated and carries a heavy administrative burden. “Plan sponsors may not choose to integrate this provision, but they still realize they need to have an emergency savings option,” she says.

According to CAPTRUST research, some plans are choosing to offer stand-alone emergency savings programs instead. These programs often include payroll-deducted savings accounts with employer-sponsored financial coaching. The goal is to help employees build short-term financial security without modifying their retirement plan contributions or taking withdrawals, such as loans, from their plan balances.

“Sometimes, it’s easier to provide an alternative solution than to change the plan itself,” says Webb. Another example: Some companies now provide direct student loan repayment assistance instead of using SECURE 2.0’s student loan matching feature—another one of its optional provisions.

Cumulative Impact

Employers don’t need to overhaul their retirement plans to support financial wellness. Sometimes, simple tools and good guidance can be just as effective.

“When people have access to good information and tools, they’re able to manage their finances more confidently,” says Chris Whitlow, CAPTRUST senior director and head of CAPTRUST at Work, the firm’s financial wellness solution for institutional clients. “Confidence reduces financial stress today and helps people stay focused on the future.”

Whitlow says he sees employers integrating a range of third-party benefits and tools, from financial wellness platforms to artificial-intelligence-enabled budgeting tools to automated savings programs, in addition to SECURE 2.0 provisions.

“What’s really exciting is watching these different technologies and programs start to come together,” says Whitlow. “As that happens, we’re going to see financial wellness evolve much faster, and that’s going to create real, meaningful change for people.”

Webb agrees. “First, we saw the natural rise of auto-enrollment. Then the mandatory rise of auto-enrollment, automatic increases in deduction rates, emergency savings accounts, and the saver’s match, which—when combined—will add up to tremendous growth in retirement plan and other savings accounts in the future. All these layers on top of one another. The snowball is getting bigger, and it’s picking up speed.”

The Saver’s Match and a Savings Mindset

Webb says he is especially excited about the retirement saver’s match, a part of SECURE 2.0 that comes into effect in 2027. “The savers match has the potential to transform this industry as much as automatic enrollment and target-date funds did.”

The saver’s match is a government-funded matching contribution to an eligible employer-sponsored or individual retirement account. Through the savers’ match, the federal government will match 50 percent of retirement account contributions up to $2,000 for low- and middle-income taxpayers. Sponsor participation in the saver’s match is optional, so the success of the program will depend on two key factors: overall adoption rates and taxpayer education. Participants will need to elect to add a saver’s match account when filing their taxes.

“We will see a tipping point,” Webb says. “A lot of people have no savings at all. Suddenly, they’re going to have a retirement plan account that might have $10,000 in it within two years, and if we haven’t incentivized a savings mindset in them before that time, they’re going to want to withdraw that money to pay bills. Now’s the time to get ahead.”

Having a savings mindset means staying focused on long-term financial goals. The saver’s match and employer-sponsored emergency savings accounts are two ways to incentivize this type of long-term thinking. Having access to emergency savings might also help employees avoid withdrawing funds from their retirement plans.

“The truth is that most people who take loans out of their plans are taking smallish amounts of money—$1,000 to $3,000—that could easily come from emergency savings instead,” says Whitlow. “Participants may not be so tempted to take loans, hardships, and other in-service distributions if they have a separate pot of money for emergencies.”

Especially for early- and mid-career workers, withdrawing small sums can have detrimental long-term effects because they’ll miss out on compound earnings. “If employers can automate the emergency savings piece, employees are more likely to be in better shape, both in the near and long term,” says Webb.

Retirement Rich, Cash Poor?

According to Fidelity, the number of 401(k) millionaires rose 27 percent in 2024, rising from 422,000 to 537,000 people. These are historic numbers, but they’re likely to look less impressive over time as younger generations get an early start at saving.

“We talk so much about the state of retirement for baby boomers and Gen Xers,” says Webb. “What most people aren’t talking about yet is what this all means for Gen Z and Gen Alpha. If you’re in your early 20s right now with $10,000 in a retirement account, and you don’t touch it, with the compounding power of continued savings and earnings, you have the potential to be able to retire as a millionaire.”

“We’re going to see so many people who earned modest middle-class salaries retiring with seven-figure balances in their retirement accounts,” he says. “They may still be liquid-asset poor if they don’t have good guidance and education, but they will retire well.”

That’s one of the reasons financial wellness programs are critical, and it may help explain why employers aren’t rushing to integrate all SECURE 2.0’s optional provisions. “Most plan sponsors and recordkeepers see SECURE and SECURE 2.0 as parts of a bigger conversation about employee attraction, retention, and financial wellness,” says Wheat. The question employers are asking isn’t as simple as “Which SECURE 2.0 provisions should we offer?” Instead, they’re asking “What are our ideal financial outcomes for our workforce?” Then, they’re working backward to decide which means can help them achieve their goals. SECURE 2.0 is just one of the tools in the toolbox.

The first 50 days of President Trump’s second term have seen a surge of policy actions spanning a broad range of issues. While any one of these initiatives could serve as a stand-alone policy agenda for a president, this administration is ambitiously advancing multiple items through the policy funnel simultaneously.  

The result has been a steady stream of headlines that has left investors navigating an increasingly complex and unpredictable landscape, akin to a multidimensional chess game. Capturing the most headlines over the past week has been the impending levy of tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China. Here, we outline what we believe are the primary goals and potential risks of these rapidly evolving trade policy initiatives. We also highlight how economic uncertainty stemming from the crosscurrents of several policy shifts is influencing our investment decision-making process.

Figure One: The Policy Agenda Funnel

Source: CAPTRUST research. For illustrative purposes only.

Primary Goals

We believe the administration’s trade policy reforms are designed to pursue four main objectives.

  1. Reshoring and Foreign Investment: By making it more expensive to buy foreign goods, tariffs incentivize U.S. manufacturing. This has the potential to drive an increase in domestic and foreign investment into the U.S. For example, in the past week, we saw companies, including Apple and Taiwan Semiconductor, announce significant investments in domestic research and development and in semiconductor chip-making facilities.
  2. Balancing the Playing Field: The president strongly believes there are imbalances within existing trade relationships that create an unfair competitive advantage for other countries. He is seeking to counteract tariffs on U.S.-made goods and foreign subsidies for industries such as agriculture, forestry, and auto manufacturing.
  3. Creating Sources of Revenue: Tariffs are direct payments made to the U.S. government, which could improve our current fiscal condition. They could also potentially offset the cost of other proposed policy items, most notably the extension of the cuts included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). However, it is important to understand that the true revenue impact is far from certain, as tariffs and any potential retaliation could dampen economic growth conditions.
  4. Leveraging for Non-Trade Negotiations: Tariffs are a bargaining tool that extends beyond trade policy. They can be used to pressure foreign governments on issues such as border security, drug enforcement, and other geopolitical objectives.

Potential Outcomes with Meaningful Impacts

The immense scale, complexity, and importance of international trade mean that policy shifts introduce significant potential risks. This is particularly true at present, because the initial round of proposed tariffs targets nations that currently represent more than 40 percent of total U.S. annual imports. However, because these issues continue to be negotiated, the ultimate extent of impact on consumers, businesses, markets, and the economy will depend on the breadth and depth of actual imposed tariffs. We believe the most likely outcomes include the following.

Investment Implications

In this uncertain and rapidly evolving environment, it is extremely challenging to determine specific investment implications with a high degree of confidence. Despite this uncertainty, what is becoming clear is that the decision-making landscape is being reshaped.

Some of the most important underlying economic assumptions that investors have historically modeled with confidence, such as trade relationships, security alliances, and free markets, are now being scrutinized and, in some cases, completely reset.

Although the final contours of the administration’s policy changes are far from certain, many of the fundamental factors that have shaped markets and investment outcomes for the past decade are now changing at an unprecedented pace and scale. These changes should not necessarily be viewed as bearish in the long term. Rather, changing assumptions are an indication that future winners may be different than past ones, and an uncertain transitional period is likely.

The two biggest questions the CAPTRUST Investment Committee is focusing on are “What bearing will this new environment have on U.S. technology leadership in global markets?” and “How will it influence unity and competitiveness in Europe?”

By any account, this is a historical moment. Investors are rarely faced with a true regime change, but the scale and speed of recent policy actions suggest that investors and businesses may need to adjust to a new set of economic conditions.

New environments can create risks—but also opportunities—for investors who adapt. The Trump administration has already demonstrated a willingness to employ unconventional negotiation strategies. While the ultimate outcome of various policy shifts is still unknown, what does appear evident is that market volatility is likely to persist as investors attempt to understand and adjust to this shifting economic landscape.

As financial advisors, we are paying close attention to fiscal policy outcomes. While we may experience short-term volatility as markets adjust to shifting policy, our core investment principles will not change: remain diversified, resist emotional decision-making, and maintain a long-term perspective to best capture the long-term compounding power of time.

The Fed’s September 2024 decision to start lowering the fed funds rate marked a big policy shift from recent years’ rising rates. Its effects will ripple through various sectors of the economy.

For the real estate market, lower interest rates generally mean good news. As the Fed cuts rates, mortgage rates tend to follow suit, although not always in perfect sync. Federal funds rate cuts have a direct impact on short-term interest rates. Other factors also influence mortgage rates, including long-term bond yields, inflation expectations, and each lender’s appetite for risk.

To understand the impact of easing rates, it’s helpful to look at this question through the eyes of two audiences: first-time homebuyers and existing homeowners.

While lower interest rates could encourage first-time buyers, home prices are near record highs and could remain prohibitive for some time. Home values have appreciated significantly since the beginning of the pandemic, so one or two rate cuts may not be enough to bring mortgage payments to a level where affordability meaningfully improves.

Existing homeowners have benefited from price appreciation, adding more than $14 trillion to their home equity. Having locked in ultra-low mortgage rates during the pandemic, these owners are unlikely to sell. Yet as rates fall, they may seek to unlock value by borrowing through home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). This form of borrowing, which slowed as interest rates climbed over the past few years, could help fund renovations, investments outside the home, and debt consolidation.

In his remarks over the past few years, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has used the word recalibration many times, suggesting that this easing cycle is about returning rates to levels that neither restrict nor overstimulate the economy. This begs the question: How fast and how far will the Fed cut rates? Fed economists will be watching the economic data for signs of recession, which would likely prompt faster or deeper rate cuts. At the same time, they are mindful of the possibility that inflation could reignite, which could slow its rate-cut trajectory.

Of course, housing is not the only sector that stands to benefit from falling interest rates. A lower-rate environment can reduce variable-rate debt on credit cards and auto loans, opening room in budgets for more consumer spending. Businesses may also step up their capital investments and hiring plans.

A Roth conversion involves transferring funds from a traditional retirement account—such as a 401(k), 403(b), or individual retirement account (IRA) funded with pre-tax dollars—into a Roth IRA.

Why would someone consider a Roth conversion? The biggest benefit lies in the tax treatment of the converted funds. Once the funds are in the Roth IRA, future growth of those assets is tax-free. Withdrawals in retirement are also tax-free, assuming they meet certain criteria. As with any strategy, there are important considerations to keep in mind.

When you convert funds to a Roth IRA, the amount converted is taxable income in that tax year. For example, if you convert $100,000 from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, that $100,000 will be added to your taxable income in the conversion year.

Converting large amounts can result in a significant tax bill and may push you into a higher tax bracket. Even so, using retirement funds to pay taxes may make sense for those looking to convert large IRAs to reduce their future required minimum distributions (RMDs).

The timing of your Roth conversion matters too. Generally, it’s a good idea to convert when your income is lower—for example, after you’ve retired and before you begin drawing Social Security. You may also choose to convert over the course of several years to spread out the tax impacts. But if you can get comfortable with these considerations, a Roth conversion can provide you with benefits beyond tax-free growth and withdrawals. Some of these benefits are:

As always, you should consult your tax and financial advisors and consider your unique situation and goals.

Life is uncertain, and it’s often these unknowns that cause the most worry—for instance, the future of Social Security benefits.

Financial planning can help alleviate some of these worries by providing clarity and by making sure your Social Security benefits are appropriately accounted for in your long-term financial strategy.

How Social Security Began

Congress established the Social Security program to provide a reliable fixed income for retirees. In the beginning, there were more workers paying their share of the payroll tax—now known as Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax—into the plan than there were retirees receiving benefits, so excess funds were used to create a trust to house the growing surplus.

From 1984 to 2009, the total amount of money gathered from FICA taxes exceeded the amount of money that the Social Security program was paying in benefits, and funds accumulated in the trust.

However, by 2010, things changed. The number of retirees receiving benefits was higher than originally expected, likely due to high unemployment rates and an aging population that collectively retired after the 2008–2009 financial crisis. The fund began paying out more than it was receiving. To meet its financial obligations, the Social Security program needed to use a portion of its trust to cover the deficit.

Social Security Changes, Past and Future

Multiple adjustments have already been made to the program, like increasing the Social Security wage base limit, which is the amount of income subject to Social Security taxes. Another change redefined full retirement age, which is the age when a person can begin collecting their full Social Security benefits. Changes such as these began in 1983, and small adjustments continue to be made.

Some likely future adjustments could include another change to full retirement age or further adjustments to the amount of income that is subject to Social Security taxes. Both major political parties have proposed these changes, and other strategies, as solutions to shore up any gap in benefits. Although privatization of the Social Security trust has been proposed a few times over the years, recently, it has not been a major topic of discussion. We believe privatization is an unlikely change.

2025 Social Security Changes

The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on January 5, 2025, effectively repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) rules. This means that individuals who were previously subject to WEP and GPO may benefit from an increase in their Social Security benefits. However, the timeline of when these changes will take effect has not yet been determined by the Social Security Administration.

What impact will this change have on the viability of Social Security? Likely, it will speed up the timeline for when Congress must make Social Security decisions, but it won’t change how likely or unlikely those changes are.

The Viability of Benefits

When people talk about potential Social Security changes, they often express concern that the program will be eliminated, and they won’t receive the benefits they’re counting on.

Even in the unlikely event that Congress doesn’t make further adjustments, and the trust fund portion becomes depleted, Social Security benefits won’t vanish overnight. Benefits would be reduced but not eliminated entirely.

According to a recent study by the Social Security Trustees, by 2035, even if the fund were depleted, Social Security would still be able to pay 83 percent of scheduled benefits from the incoming payroll tax portion of the fund. In 2098, it would still be able to cover 73 percent of scheduled benefits.

In other words, even if Congress chose to do nothing at the time to correct the depletion (a highly unlikely strategy for any Congressional delegation), the program would still be able to pay a sizeable portion of benefits for multiple generations.

Regardless of what happens in future legislation, planning for Social Security benefits is an important part of building your retirement income plan. To prepare for a range of potential futures, talk with your financial advisor. They can help you model different scenarios and stress-test your plan against outcomes like a reduction in benefits. Knowing you’re prepared for whatever may happen can help provide perspective.

When she was in her early 40s, Schooley, now 63, launched a career in the maritime industry after more than two decades working in hospitality. She’s now the senior captain of a ship for a daytime tour company in Seattle, Washington.

“It was a huge leap to go from providing the waitstaff for events to being responsible for the safety and well-being of a ship, the crew, and hundreds of passengers,” says Schooley.

She found the perfect fit for her second act, but the journey to a new career was turbulent at times.

Learning to Serve

Schooley, the youngest of six children, was introduced to hospitality at a young age.

Her father was a long-haul truck driver. Her mother worked as a waitress at the revolving restaurant in Seattle’s famous Space Needle, the iconic landmark with panoramic views of the city and beyond.

Schooley and her siblings occasionally accompanied their mother to work. “We’d do our homework in the break room from the 600-foot level,” she says.

Schooley followed in her mother’s footsteps, working as a server at several restaurants, including one her parents owned for a few years.

Eventually, her mom started her own business, Always at Your Service, which provided trained service staff for parties and other occasions. It was a family affair. Schooley and her siblings helped with every aspect.

“We took care of staff and staging for everything from intimate dinners for two to events with 800 people at large venues,” she says. “We worked at weddings, holiday parties, corporate parties, and team-building events, as well as on private yachts and daytime cruise boats.”

Their customers included corporate executives, bureaucrats, and wealthy entrepreneurs. The business took off during the late 1980s and early 1990s. “People who worked for Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, created a ton of business,” she says.

Keeping Her Head Above Water

Throughout her 20s and 30s, Schooley worked nights, weekends, and holidays while also raising two daughters on her own. “My hours were all over the place,” she says. “There were no set workdays or benefits to the job. I was running from one event to another, making sure staff showed up.”

Schooley is reflected in a mirror aboard the ship.

Working at the company and being a mom was exhausting, but her siblings would help with babysitting when they weren’t pitching in at the family business.

To escape the pressures of work, Schooley went out on the water. “I had a little motorboat that I could tool around in with my daughters.”

Schooley developed a love for boating when she was a child, during a trip to a lake with family and friends. “I remember the first time someone held me while skiing,” she says. “I have a vivid memory of the joy of the water.”

In 1998, Schooley took over running the business when her mother retired. That same year, she got married and moved with her husband, Pete Sandall, to an area of Seattle where it was difficult to keep her boat—so she sold it.

But she missed being on the water and, after a few years, she started thinking about ways to subsidize her hobby.

Charting Unfamiliar Territory

There was a Seattle Maritime Academy near her home. “One day I was driving by, and I pulled in,” she says. “I asked them what it would entail to get a license to run a little boat.”

The staff explained the cost and time involved. “I enrolled that same day,” she says. “I just wanted to dip my toe in to see what it would take.”

Her goal was to get a license to run a small commercial boat offering charters for up to six passengers, but academy personnel recommended she get a master’s license instead—one that would allow her to operate a vessel of up to 100 gross tons.

The test was similar, but there were key differences involving the size of the boat and the sea time she would need before she could apply for a license. Sea time is the number of hours a person has spent working on a vessel.

Training included an 80-hour course that would prepare her to take the licensing test. This training was broken into three parts: learning the rules of the water, charting courses, and studying federal regulation codes that pertain to maritime law.

Schooley was in a class with crab fishermen from Alaska, yacht delivery people, a water taxi service operator, and an employee of Argosy Cruises, which offers sightseeing tours on Elliott Bay, Lake Washington, and areas of Puget Sound.

After she passed the course, she worked for Argosy Cruises to earn her required sea time, which was the equivalent of 365 eight-hour days. “I already had some sea time from catering events on private yachts, but I still needed a lot of additional work,” she says.

One of the ships that Schooley drives, operated by Argosy Cruises

Steering Her Career in a New Direction

In 2004, Schooley started work as a deckhand for Argosy Cruises, where she learned the mechanics of maritime diesel engines, radio communication, how to raise and lower fenders, basic knots, and line-handling skills for securing the ship.

“I had to learn to safely tie up a vessel, securing it to the dock with primary lines,” she says. “I had to draw a schematic of the vessel, with the details of everything from the hatches and holes to electrical equipment and the lifesaving equipment onboard.”

There were times she doubted her new direction. “When I started as a deckhand, there was a horrible storm that came through with 40-mile-an-hour winds. It got rougher and rougher, to the extent that a refrigerator fell off the wall. I really did stop and wonder if this was the career for me.”

She couldn’t afford to quit her hospitality job while she was taking the class and doing various jobs on the ship, so she continued to run the family business. “I worked 60 to 80 hours a week,” she says. “It was rough.”

Also, there was a lot to learn about driving on water. “To become a captain, you have to know how to safely navigate a ship while managing a crew,”  she says. “You have to pilot the vessel in all kinds of weather conditions, including winds, fog, and rain. I learned to drive by instrument with no visibility. The training was much harder than I expected.”

In 2005, Schooley got her 100-ton master’s license and began working full time for Argosy Cruises.

She decided to close the family business. “It was difficult to end that chapter,” she says. “But I felt like I was on two treadmills at the same time, and I had to jump off one.”

Landing in an Important Role

As a senior captain, Schooley can pilot all the ships in the company’s fleet. She is currently in charge of the 125-foot Salish Explorer, Argosy Cruises’ largest ship. “This just became my baby,” she says. “Every year, we switch to a different boat.”

Schooley's crew. From left to right: John, Harrison, and Lars

“The vessel can carry more than 500 passengers, but we usually only take about 200 to 300 passengers per trip in peak season,” she says. During the summer, she’s in charge of six one-hour cruises a day on Elliott Bay.

“When I’m driving the ship, I’m focused on navigation, communication, and visibility,” she says. “I’m monitoring three radios. I’m constantly watching everything, including ferry traffic, recreational vessel traffic, and fishing boats.”

The ship has five crew members, one of whom is a senior deckhand. The deckhands must check in with her regularly. She also watches the cameras around the ship to check passengers’ safety.

“Every single person must carry their weight,” she says. “It’s a well-oiled machine. As a ship’s captain, you have to trust yourself, trust your crew, and trust your instruments. It’s a massive amount of responsibility, but I have crew members who help manage the vessel.”

Running a Tight Ship

Schooley still uses her well-honed hospitality skills. “If we have a private chartered cruise with caterers,” she says, “I make sure all the elements come together at the right time, including the catering service, music, and decorations.” She even officiates weddings occasionally.

Schooley wears many hats as captain, training crew members, managing safety and inspections, and assisting in shipyard repair work.

Schooley’s husband says the maritime career combines his wife’s hospitality skills with her love for being on the water.

“When she’s in the wheelhouse, she’s clearly the captain,” Sandall says. “There’s no messing around. She’s got radios, and she’s on the ball, looking around.

“She’s in charge,” he says. “It’s impressive—all the hats she has to wear.”

Tricia Nielsen, a friend, former colleague at Argosy Cruises, and classmate at the maritime academy, says Schooley runs a tight ship in a supportive way that makes crew members feel appreciated, so they strive to do their best. One key to her success is that she takes the time to build relationships, Nielsen says.

At this stage of her life, Schooley says she’s exactly where she wants to be. “I’m happy being on the water, and I’m happy being around other people who love working on boats.

“Every day I go to work is a gift,” she says. “I have the best office in the world. The only regret I have is that I didn’t do it sooner.”

By Nanci Hellmich

Nanci Hellmich, an award-winning multimedia reporter, covered myriad topics for USA TODAY for more than 30 years. Now she writers for AARP, encore.org, and other organizations. She’s been named a top online influencer on weight loss and nutrition and has appeared on numerous television shows including NBC’s TODAY.

A fiduciary is a person or organization who prudently takes care of money or assets for another person or organization. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, also known as ERISA, retirement plan sponsors are fiduciaries of their retirement plans. This means they are legally bound to act solely in the best interest of their plan participants. Fiduciaries who fail to fulfill that duty can face penalties and personal liability for plan losses.

Topics covered include:

Additional CAPTRUST Resources:

Fiduciary Best Practices for Plan Sponsors Slide Deck

The Importance of Fiduciary Training

For a copy of the transcript, click here.

Our 2024 series:

It’s a childhood memory many Americans share: that feeling of walking into class to discover there’s a substitute teacher. There’s a little shock, followed by a lift of reprieve. Maybe the quiz is canceled. Maybe you’ll get away with not having finished your homework. Or maybe you’ll get to watch a movie. But, as an adult, have you ever considered becoming a substitute teacher?

Substitute teachers are the unsung heroes of their schools and communities, and they’re in desperately short supply. Every day, nearly 50 million students in the U.S. go to school in a badly stressed education system with an ongoing teacher shortage. According to the Learning Policy Institute, there are almost 42,000 unfilled teacher positions across the country, and that number is likely underestimated.

Teachers are valiant, overworked, and underpaid. Also, they’re human beings who, at times, will need a day of leave to recover from the flu, nurse a sick child, or tend to an emergency. But sometimes, there just aren’t subs to replace them.

If you’re someone who enjoys being around children, has extra time, and wants to continue giving back to your community, substitute teaching could be a great fit for you. Here are some reasons professionals and retirees from many fields might consider joining a local substitute teacher pool.

A Crisis of Unfilled Teacher Absences

Sadly, the noble instructors of our nation’s youth often have difficulty taking the sick days or personal leave they’re entitled to because of the shortage of subs. While this has been a longstanding problem, the pandemic worsened shortages to the point that 20 percent of requests for teacher coverage went unfilled, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The problem is even more severe in economically disadvantaged districts and neighborhoods. In the Chicago Public Schools system, for example, the fill rate for absences in bottom-quintile schools averaged only 50 percent, compared to more than 95 percent at top schools, according to a 2023 BLS report.

“There are not enough subs, period,” says Elaine Thesus, a retired teacher in Greenville, North Carolina, who frequently substitutes. “Last Friday, I got a notice that there were 47 unfilled teacher absences in my school district.”

In some districts, teachers who require a day of leave must request it at least one month in advance due to the lack of available substitutes. Realistically, teachers can’t always know in advance when they need to miss work.

This means schools resort to drastic measures. They move students to a gym, cafeteria, or library, sometimes with little or no supervision. Classrooms may double up, leaving another teacher overwhelmed. “A resource teacher, librarian, or paraprofessional might get pulled in, just so there’s an adult in the room,” which means important student services won’t be delivered, says Minnie Ford, a retired educator and current substitute.

Or students get absorbed, meaning they’re distributed between several other classrooms and given independent work. “It’s a day of instruction lost, and it’s overloading the other classrooms,” says Thesus.

To make up for the shortfalls, school districts have tried raising pay, providing free training, and relaxing the requirements for joining the substitute pool. Most school districts have pathways for nonteachers to become substitutes, though the specifics vary.

Many former teachers, like Ford and Thesus, return to the classroom as substitutes after retirement, because they understand the dire need—and because it’s a pretty good gig. Trained, experienced educators are ideal substitutes, but anyone can be great at the job.

But I’ve Never Taught Before

If you’re an older adult or retiree from a nonteaching background, you can step up to help fill the gap. It doesn’t matter whether you’re familiar with the material. You can give a lot to students simply by drawing on your life experiences as a parent, coach, or professional.

“That’s what we need: more people who will take a day of leave from their job and sub once every month or two,” says James Monroe. “Then the school system could have a bigger bank of substitute teachers.” Monroe retired from a 15-year Air Force career before he moved into education. He worked as a substitute teacher in the 1990s before becoming a full-time high school teacher.

“You’ve got a wealth of knowledge you might not even realize,” he says. “You’d be surprised at the number of kids you might influence. Students really like having new people in their classrooms.” Male substitute teachers are especially needed, as kids tend to see fewer men working in schools.

Sometimes, the most valuable thing is a listening ear. If a student is struggling with an assignment, offer to help them read the directions. Ask them what they think they should do next. “A lot of kids don’t get that kind of attention from adults,” says Monroe.

Students benefit from exposure to diverse role models and hearing about different kinds of jobs. “If you’re subbing in high school, you can share how you got into your field,” says Ford. “You can help students fill out applications or make resumes.”

This sidebar talks about first steps to get started. Check out edustaff.org, ess.com, or tempositions.com/school-professionals/

Grandparent Mentality

Thesus says being a substitute is easier and more fun than being a teacher, much like the trope that being a grandparent is better than being a parent. After retirement, she changed her attitude from “I’m their teacher” to “I’m their sub.”

“I get to enjoy all the positive things about teaching without the headaches,” she says. “I don’t have to deal with parents, discipline, grading, paperwork, lesson planning, or meetings. At 3:30, I’m going to leave this class behind.”

This mentality makes her more relaxed about things like how students act in the classroom. While she doesn’t allow fighting or extreme unruliness, “if they’re talking quietly in class, I don’t care,” says Thesus. “Behavior you can’t get away with at home, grandma doesn’t care!”

Working in a room full of kids from Gen Z or Generation Alpha can be an opportunity for older adults to keep current. People who haven’t spent much time around youth culture may find it invigorating, because many students today have a unique vibe. “A lot of kids today are treated almost like their parents are their friends,” says Monroe. “There are pluses and minuses to that, but they are then more comfortable and more open to speaking to adults, which is a good thing.”

Thesus has encouraged retired friends who have time on their hands to investigate substitute teaching. She touts the extremely flexible schedule, lack of late hours, and, in most cases, summers off. “You can choose when you want to work or not to work,” she says.

Becoming a substitute teacher can be a truly adventurous—but also simple—way to give back. Substitutes make a positive impact on the students in their classes, the schools where they work, and the broader community. After all, you never know whether something you bring to the classroom might become an important memory for one of the world’s future leaders.

By Jeanne Lee

Jeanne Lee is a freelance writer living in a lovely college town in Ohio. She has written about consumer and business topics for 20 years, including stints at Fortune and Money. her works has appeared in publications like USA TODAY, Fortune Small Business, and Health. She loves thinking about ways for people to hack their finances, and she daydreams about paying off her mortgage before she has to pay for college for her two boys.