Just like everyone’s favorite ice cream flavor, each EGPS retirement plan expert brings their unique sweetness and flair to the team. In this fun interview, we dish out the inside scoop on what makes our colleagues so awesome. From unexpected career beginnings to those little annoyances that drive them up the wall, join us as we uncover the personal stories that shape our incredible team. Grab your favorite sundae, sit back, and enjoy discovering the delightful personalities that make EGPS the cherry on top of the workplace!
RETIREMENT PLAN EXPERT INTERVIEW LIST
Tyler Kilburn, Retirement Plan Analyst & Consultant
Mandie Roggenkamp, 3(16) Operations Specialist
Kate Florio, Systems Manager
Jacob Booth, Transaction Specialist
Leona Tran, Retirement Plan Consultant
WORK-RELATED Q&A FOR EACH RETIREMENT PLAN EXPERT
Q: What was your first job?
Tyler: Panera Bread- it was the worst 😊 (I realized quickly that the food industry was not for me)
Mandie: Working at a local resort on the Whitefish Chain in North Central MN
Kate: My first “part time” job was data entry. My first job out of undergrad was research assistant in a chemistry lab.
Jacob: Dishwasher at 14
Leona: Receptionist in an accounting office. Years later my old boss became one of my clients!
Q: How did you get into the retirement industry?
Tyler: I fell into it completely by accident. I’m a sport management major but could not get a full-time job in sports in over 130 different job applications. I started leaning more into the business side of my degree and wanted to do anything to get back to Raleigh, NC, where I went to college and where my friends were (including the woman who would become my wife 😊). This led me to a Craigslist ad that showed a benefit of a 401(k). I thought a Craigslist job with a 401(k) plan seemed legit enough, so I went to the interview, and it was only then that I realized that the job itself was the 401(k) LOL! They kept asking me “so do you know what we do here?” and I had absolutely no clue the whole time. The office had some other NC State grads that were doing pretty well, so they gave me a chance. I’m pretty decent with numbers and didn’t hate the work, so I guess the rest is history.
Mandie: Through my aunt, as she worked at Ascensus. I started as a temp and then became full time.
Kate: I left a job with a wild unpredictable schedule looking for an office job; I started in transaction processing.
Jacob: I got my start in 2014 after working in law enforcement.
Leona: My sister worked on 401(k) plans and introduced me to this industry.
Q: What does your job entail?
Tyler: Extensive contribution calcs and trust accounting balancing. I work closely with the rest of the analyst team to make sure everyone knows what they’re doing and how to do it. I answer plenty of questions and review other analysts’ work to make sure that correct numbers are filed and reports are correct before going out the door. Additionally, I work directly with RPCs and analysts to make sure corrections are completed, nothing gets missed, and we are on the same page with our reporting numbers and information shown on our spreadsheets.
Mandie: This list is very long, but a few things my job entails are processing all transactions for 3(16), doing eligibility reviews and sending enrollment materials to participants, contribution processing for our 3(16) clients, ensuring everything is setup correctly at EGPS and the recordkeeper for 3(16) services for each client and scheduling 3(16) setup calls. I am also a contact for participants, and I help them with any questions they have.
Kate: A wide variety from building, reviewing, and launching projects, monitoring, initiating, and tracking operations tasks by a calendar, training, troubleshooting & answering questions for all staff (and sometimes advisors or clients) who use the PensionPro system, and coordinating with the experts on related systems for operation and reporting (systems like FTW, QuickBooks, etc.).
Jacob: I manage the distributions email inbox, handle participant voicemails, and review and process distributions and loans.
Leona: I ensure that our clients’ retirement plans are effectively managed, legally in compliance, financially sound and beneficial to both the employer and employees. I also provide day-to-day plan consultation, work with CPAs and advisors on mutual clients, gather and analyze data, review plan documents, run calculations and testings, reconcile plan assets, prepare and submit tax forms, etc. Really, the A-Z of retirement plan administration.
Q: What’s your favorite part of your job as a retirement plan expert?
Tyler: Historically, I have always enjoyed the autonomy of this job. Knowing what I have to do for the week and what I need to get done in the next 3 to 6 months helps me plan my days and weeks accordingly and use time management to get things done on my own schedule. I am certainly working with other coworkers now more than ever, since I previously worked at very small TPA firms before joining EGPS, but I am enjoying the new responsibilities of my current role. I get great satisfaction when team members thank me for working with them and helping things “click” for them, and I also love balancing a TFR to a triple zero (0.00). LOL.
Mandie: Every day is something different
Kate: Probably the variety! I like learning new things and there’s always new procedures, technology, or regulations to adjust to.
Jacob: Client interaction and working with numbers
Leona: I enjoy working closely with clients, advisors, CPAs and best of all, my team here at EGPS, sharing knowledge and personal stories.
NOW FOR THE FUN: GETTING TO KNOW OUR RETIREMENT PLAN EXPERTS
Q: If you could meet any celebrity, who would it be and why?
Tyler: I don’t really have one specifically, so I will give a few that would be neat. Henry Cavil. Why? Have you seen the guy? Lol. But really, great actor and likes video games and nerd culture, so I think we would get along and could talk about many of his cool projects over the years. Paul McCartney. Huge Beatles fan and guitar player/musician. I’d love to play guitar with him and pick his brain about writing music. I’m a big baseball guy, so I gotta also throw out a few here – Anthony Rizzo (Cubs legend from the 2016 WS winning team and one of my favorite players – also shares the same first name as my twin brother), Cody Bellinger (current favorite player on the Cubs and looks like a chill guy – if you didn’t see a pattern here, I’m a huge Chicago Cubs fan), and Shohei Ohtani (even if just for a picture as he is possibly the greatest athlete of all time).
Mandie: There really isn’t anyone that I can think of but I’d love to be able to talk to my Grandpa Harvey again; he’s a celebrity in my eyes.
Kate: Buzz Aldrin. He’s very smart AND very funny. I actually did meet him but in a big group, but he was not feeling well, so I did not get to speak with him.
Jacob: I can’t think of any current ones, but if historical figures count, I’d pick Nikola Tesla.
Leona: Michael Jackson – I would like to know about his life and the truth.
Q: If you had to eat the same meal at least once a day, what would it be?
Tyler: Gotta be eggs. I used to literally live off eggs every day for several years when I was living on my own shortly after graduating college. Cheap, healthy, easy, I like the taste. What more do you need? Honorable mention for a good buffalo/spicy chicken sandwich (looking at you Chick-fil-A). I actually could use my meal plan money for CFA in college and did literally eat a Chick-fil-A spicy sandwich every day for lunch for at least one year lol.
Mandie: Steak – Ribeye to be specific
Kate: Eggs any style; any time is breakfast time!
Jacob: Brisket
Leona: Rice paired with anything is delicious.
Q: What food do you think represents the state you live in and why?
Tyler: NC Eastern style chopped BBQ. Vinegar and hot sauce based pulled pork from NC. This was close to my answer for the previous question. I’m a huge fan of good BBQ and nobody does it like my home state of North Carolina.
Mandie: Walleye, it’s the state fish of Minnesota and it’s not a type of fish you can have just anywhere.
Kate: If it can be a cuisine rather than a single item, diner food. NJ has the very best diners.
Jacob: Living in South Carolina, I get the impression you are never more than 5 miles away from barbecue and boiled peanuts!
Leona: In-N-Out Burger, who doesn’t love a good burger with fries?
Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
Tyler: People having phone calls in public on speaker phone. The only thing more annoying than someone having an entire phone call where you can hear in a public place is being able to hear the other person on the phone too!
Mandie: Being LATE!
Kate: Inaccurate data
Jacob: Bad driving etiquette
Leona: Shoes left at the door entry; I am always tripping over them!
Q: If you could be the best in the world at something, what would it be?
Tyler: Probably guitar. I am decent in my own right at electric guitar, and I always wanted to play full-time professionally as a kid. Having said that, I am more of an introvert these days, so I would probably try to be a studio legend as opposed to a touring sensation.
Mandie: The Best World Traveler!
Kate: Learning and speaking languages
Jacob: The best dad I can be to my children
Leona: Probably a singer – music is so inspirational!
Q: Would you rather have to fight a bear or a shark?
Tyler: I’m a better runner than a swimmer. Even if I couldn’t outrun a bear, I would feel like I had more of a chance to escape a bear than outswim a shark. Word on the street is that you can punch a shark in the nose to get it to leave you alone, but… having a shark bite or attack me while I’m helpless in the water might be one of the most terrifying things that could possibly happen and I’m getting scared just thinking about it!
Mandie: Bear
Kate: I’d pick shark. Do I get to pick the species?
Jacob: There are a lot of “it depends” with this question. If its shallow water, I’m picking the shark. Either way, I’m in a world of hurt.
Leona: Neither, both are scary! But if I must choose, probably a bear because if I stand completely still, I may have a chance to escape if he doesn’t see me as a threat.
MORE AND MORE LAYERS OF OUR EXPERTS
Tyler: If you knew me… You know I am constantly joking and trying to use humor to make tough situations easier.
If you really knew me… You would know I can’t talk right now because I am probably watching Chicago Cubs baseball.
If you really really knew me… You may even have heard some of my own written and recorded songs…
Mandie: If you knew me… You know I have 3 horses.
If you really knew me… You know I had double jaw surgery and have 6 screws and 2 plates in my face.
If you really really knew me… You know I traveled to Australia to play basketball with other girls from around the state of MN and won the tournament the summer before my senior year of high school.
Kate: If you knew me… You’d know I love to bake.
If you really knew me… You’d know I studied science originally.
If you really really knew me… You’d know I spent over five months at sea over multiple research trips.
Jacob: If you knew me… You know I love history.
If you really knew me… I have two boys and a girl that keep me busy.
If you really really knew me… You know I love the outdoors, and spend a lot of my weekends camping, fishing, hiking, or somewhere in nature.
Leona: If you knew me… you know I love gardening and have tortoises.
If you really knew me… You know I’m afraid of the ocean, but I love going to the beach and my favorite vacation destination is Hawaii.
If you really really knew me… You know I come from a big family of 13 and I’m the baby.
