In the Media: Insights from Jay Gepfert
Trusted Expert. Independent Voice. Fiduciary-Focused.
Jay Gepfert, founding partner of Culpepper RFP, is a recognized voice on fiduciary process, retirement and health benefit plan oversight, and vendor evaluation. Having spent his career on every side of the fiduciary table — investment advisor, recordkeeper, plan sponsor, and independent evaluator — he's a frequent podcast guest, conference speaker, and source for national trade press on where compliance, cost, and risk intersect.
“Within five years of calling us charlatans, that hospital system was sued for multiple millions of dollars by their participants... You can go from charlatan to change agent fast.”
Parallel Paths: Retirement Plan Disruption Foreshadows the Future of Health Benefit Plans
Fifteen years ago, regulatory change and a wave of class-action litigation forced the retirement industry to disclose all compensation and accept fiduciary status in writing. Jay watched it happen from inside the industry — and his signature talk makes the case that the same forces are now arriving in health benefits: CAA disclosure obligations, PBM and broker-compensation litigation, and plan sponsors discovering they can no longer answer 'we've always done it this way.'
Recent audiences include the Houston chapter of ERIC (November 2025) and the NYC chapter of WEB (April 2026). The talk adapts for legal, HR, finance, and benefits-industry audiences, in person or virtual.
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"Within five years of calling us charlatans, that hospital system was sued for multiple millions of dollars by their participants... You can go from charlatan to change agent fast."
Self Funded with Spencer — “Parallel Paths”
Jay joins Spencer Smith to trace how the retirement industry's fiduciary reckoning — full compensation disclosure, written fiduciary status — is now repeating in health benefits, from PBM conflicts to broker overrides, and what plan sponsors should do before litigation decides it for them.
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The business of benefits podcast: Episode 57, Exposing the flaws in Employer’s healthcare: What brokers won’t tell you with Jay Gepfert
The Business of Benefits — “What Brokers Won't Tell You”
With Donovan Ryckis, Jay unpacks how hidden broker compensation and outdated fee structures drain plan resources — including a case study in which an independent evaluation reduced broker fees by 46% — and why healthcare benefits now demand the same due diligence retirement plans learned the hard way. [Listen to the Episode]
Connect with Chelsea and Donovan:
Website: https://businessofbenefitspodcast.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethoseffectpodcast/
Chelsea: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-ryckis-8508a192/
Donovan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donovanryckis/
Speaking in 2026
“Self Funded With Spencer shares inspiring conversations with the most successful influential people in healthcare-company founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, doctors, sales leaders, and more to help educate and inspire YOU to become the best version of yourself.”
Jay joined Spencer in February on the podcast. Stay tuned for drop dates.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1610148527
Jay will be sharing a similar talk that he delivered to the Houston chapter of ERIC in November 2025, “Parallel Paths: Retirement Plan Disruption Foreshadows the Future of Health Benefit Plans” to the NYC chapter of WEB on April 8,2026
Register Here: https://www.webnetwork.org/events/nyc-emerging-trends-in-healthcare/register
Jay is available as a podcast guest or speaker at your event, professional organization or internal meetings, both in person and virtually
In February 2026, Jay delivered his “Parallel Paths: Retirement Plan Disruption Foreshadows the Future of Health Benefit Plans” to the Houston Compensation and Benefits professional organization in Houston.
Press Mentions & Industry Commentary
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Advance thinking and attention to detail help position plans for greatness.
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Plan sponsors prepare and plan for 2024.
https://www.plansponsor.com/magazine/whats-around-the-corner/
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Principal, T. Rowe Price, Vanguard and Ascensus note ongoing system issues due to a cybersecurity problem at a US-based division of Infosys.
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The clearinghouse alerted more than 10,000 people that private information, including IRA account data, may have been stolen.
https://www.plansponsor.com/participant-data-breach-hits-retirement-clearinghouse/
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What’s Driving Heightened Plan Adviser RFPs?
HR stability, along with advisory sector instability, are some of the reasons more plan sponsors are putting out adviser requests for proposal.https://www.planadviser.com/exclusives/keys-guarding-retirement-plan-data-human-error/
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Keys to Guarding Retirement Plan Data Against Human Error
Mistakes managing employer-sponsored plan data often expose vulnerabilities that can be exploited by bad actors.
https://www.planadviser.com/exclusives/keys-guarding-retirement-plan-data-human-error/
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The ruling shows the increased need to protect client data, as recordkeepers and others could face such fines due to a participant data breach.
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HR stability, along with advisory sector instability, are some of the reasons more plan sponsors are putting out adviser requests for proposal.I
https://www.planadviser.com/whats-driving-heightened-plan-adviser-rfps/
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T. Rowe Price, Vanguard, Principal, and Ascensus note ongoing system issues due to cybersecurity problem at US-based division of Infosys.
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Experts provide insight into an insurance market predicted to grow from $6 billion to $33 billion in coming years.
https://www.planadviser.com/exclusives/advisers-recommend-cybersecurity-insurance/
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Experts provide insight into an insurance market predicted to grow from $6 billion to $33 billion in coming years.
https://www.planadviser.com/exclusives/advisers-recommend-cybersecurity-insurance/
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Firm alerts more than 10,000 people to watch out for identify theft after Social Security and IRA numbers may have been exposed.
https://www.planadviser.com/retirement-clearinghouse-issues-alert-ira-data-breach/
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Requests for proposal from plan sponsors for DC advisory services are on the uptick, according to industry players.
https://www.planadviser.com/retirement-advisers-see-increased-scrutiny-fees-services/
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As advisers seek more participant personalization from retirement recordkeepers, they also need to ramp up their focus on cybersecurity from providers, according to industry participants.
https://www.planadviser.com/personalization-push-heightens-need-advisers-vet-cybersecurity/
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Essential to public sector employees, a pension fund is a forgotten benefit for most workers in the private sector.
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As more and more investment consultants crowd into the discretionary consulting space, perhaps spurred by a fear of missing out (FOMO) mentality, some within the industry say the potential cost of not following the herd could be a problem.
https://www.ai-cio.com/news/the-fomo-element-of-discretionary-consulting/
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An interview with
Content Strategist and Creator for Financial Services | Podcast Host at The Retirement Space Podcast
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In this powerful episode, Donovan Ryckis sits down with Jay Gepfert, President of The Culpepper Group, to unpack what employers don't know—and what it’s costing them. With decades of experience on both the retirement and healthcare side of the fiduciary table, Jay brings the receipts on how hidden broker compensation, lack of transparency, and outdated fee structures are draining company resources and exposing employers to serious risk.
See the links below for the full episode
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Jay delivered this talk to the Houston chapter of ERIC in November 2025.
Invite Jay to Your Podcast, Conference, or Committee Meeting
Jay speaks and guests on topics where fiduciary process meets real-world consequences:
Parallel Paths — how retirement plan disruption foreshadows the future of health benefits (signature talk)
Broker compensation and the CAA — what plan sponsors are now responsible for knowing
DOL cybersecurity expectations for benefit plans — including the 2024 all-plans clarification
Running a defensible RFP — what committees, counsel, and regulators actually look for
Available in person or virtually, for industry conferences, professional chapters, podcasts, and internal committee or board sessions.