As we wrap up another quarter in what's been a remarkable year for the markets, Michele Suriano, President of Castle Rock Investment Company, recently delivered her comprehensive Q3 2025 review for Castle Rock PEP participants. Despite the Halloween timing of the report, the insights shared were anything but spooky: in fact, they painted a picture of continued stability and exciting developments for our retirement plan community.
Setting the Foundation: What You Need to Know
Before diving into the quarterly highlights, it's worth understanding the robust infrastructure supporting your retirement savings. Castle Rock PEP operates with Slavic as our pooled plan provider, with Michele serving as the investment adviser. This structure allows us to deliver enterprise-level retirement benefits to businesses of all sizes while maintaining the personalized attention you deserve.
One of the most practical developments this quarter has been the expansion of payroll integrations. These aren't just technical upgrades: they represent a fundamental shift toward reducing administrative burden. The 360-degree integration between payroll systems and Slavic means contribution uploads happen seamlessly, practically eliminating the manual work that once consumed valuable time. As Michele noted, "I use them personally just because I want to reduce my workload," and that same efficiency extends to every participating business.
2025 Contribution Limits: Maximizing Your Savings Opportunity
The contribution limits for 2025 remain strong, offering substantial opportunities to build retirement wealth. The base contribution limit sits at $23,500, with traditional catch-up provisions for those approaching retirement. However, the real game-changer is the super catch-up provision for employees aged 60 to 63, providing an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate retirement savings during those crucial pre-retirement years.
These limits aren't arbitrary numbers: they're carefully calibrated tools designed to help you build meaningful retirement security. For many participants, these increased limits represent the difference between a comfortable retirement and truly financial freedom.
Community Resources: Your Financial Planning Toolkit Expands
Perhaps one of the most exciting developments this quarter has been the dramatic expansion of the community page resources. Michele has curated an impressive collection of free tools, organizing them by subject matter to make navigation intuitive and practical.
The crown jewel of these additions is the free financial planning software now available to all participants. This isn't simplified, consumer-grade planning software: it's professional-grade tools that can help you model different scenarios, understand the impact of contribution changes, and visualize your path to retirement security.
The beauty of this approach lies in its accessibility. Rather than overwhelming participants with generic financial advice, the community page allows you to focus on the topics most relevant to your situation. Whether you're trying to understand catch-up contributions, optimize your investment allocations, or simply want to better understand how your retirement plan works, there's a resource waiting for you.
The Community Challenge: Gamifying Financial Wellness
Starting January 1st, Castle Rock PEP will launch its inaugural community challenge, designed to inspire peer-to-peer competition while encouraging participants to learn more, save more, and engage more deeply with their financial future. The concept is elegantly simple: earn points through various activities and compete for the coveted business spotlight at the top of the community page.
Bob Willig currently holds that top billing, but come January, the competition opens up to everyone. Michele is actively seeking feedback on the point system and challenge structure, demonstrating the collaborative approach that defines Castle Rock PEP's culture. This isn't about creating artificial competition: it's about harnessing the natural human tendency toward friendly competition to drive positive financial behaviors.
Water Cooler Wisdom: Economic Insights for the Real World
Michele's quarterly "Water Cooler Wisdom" segment provided fascinating insights into the current economic landscape. The numbers tell a compelling story of what economists call a "Goldilocks" economy: not too hot, not too cold, but just right. With unemployment at 4.3%, CPI at 3%, and recent Fed rate cuts, the economic fundamentals remain remarkably stable.
The market performance has been particularly impressive, though Michele noted some areas of concentration that deserve attention. The top 10 companies now represent nearly 40% of the S&P 500, creating an unusual level of market concentration. While this has driven strong returns, it's a dynamic worth monitoring as we move forward.
The AI Revolution in Numbers
One of the most striking data points shared was the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence across the American workforce. The comparison between September 2023 and September 2025 revealed a dramatic acceleration in AI usage: even Michele, self-described as a "dinosaur," has embraced AI tools for research and analysis.
This technological shift isn't just interesting cocktail party conversation: it represents a fundamental change in how we work and, by extension, how we save for retirement. As AI transforms industries and job roles, the importance of consistent, long-term retirement savings becomes even more critical.
Student Loans and Healthcare: Manageable Economic Headwinds
Michele's analysis of two significant economic challenges: student loan debt resumption and ACA tax credit changes: revealed an important truth about economic resilience. While these changes will impact millions of Americans, with an estimated $35 billion reduction in consumer spending, the impact on our $32 trillion economy amounts to roughly 0.1% of GDP.
The numbers tell the story: when you examine consumption patterns, the top 10% of income earners account for 50% of all consumption in America. This concentration means that broader economic shocks often have less impact than initial headlines might suggest, providing a stabilizing effect on the overall economy.
Investment Review: Navigating Changes with Purpose
The investment landscape saw several important developments this quarter, all designed to enhance participant outcomes while maintaining our commitment to low-cost, diversified investing.
Qualified Default Investment Alternatives (QDIAs)
The Vanguard Target Retirement Funds continue as our QDIAs, defaulting participants into age-appropriate investments with expense ratios of just 0.08%. These funds benefit from ERISA Section 404(c)(5) safe harbor protections: legal language that essentially treats automatic enrollment as if participants actively chose their investments, providing crucial liability protection.
While the legal language might seem convoluted, the practical impact is straightforward: participants get professional investment management at institutional costs, with automatic age-appropriate adjustments, all while maintaining the flexibility to change their allocations at any time.
Fund Changes: Improvement in Action
The replacement of the GQG emerging market fund with the Artisan fund proved prescient, as evidenced by the stark performance differences visible in the quarterly numbers. This change exemplifies our proactive approach to fund management: we don't wait for problems to compound, we act when we see concerning trends.
However, one fund remains on our watch list: the MFS International Equity Fund. The long-term portfolio manager's planned June retirement, combined with a concerning performance trend since the co-manager joined in May, has raised red flags. Michele's direct approach was telling: "I don't think I want to wait until the long-term portfolio manager retires. I think I just want to replace it."
This isn't reactionary decision-making: it's thoughtful stewardship of participant assets based on clear performance data and observable management changes.
Looking Ahead: Your Voice Matters
As we move toward year-end and look ahead to 2026, Michele's call for community feedback isn't just politeness: it's a recognition that the best retirement plans evolve based on participant needs and preferences. The community challenge structure, resource priorities, and even investment options all benefit from real-world input from the people who use them daily.
The economic forecast remains constructive, with expectations for a slight first-quarter slowdown followed by continued stability. Job creation has slowed, but this appears to reflect equilibrium rather than distress: a natural cooling after years of rapid growth.
Taking Action: Your Next Steps
The beauty of a well-structured retirement plan lies not just in its investment options or administrative efficiency, but in how it empowers participants to take control of their financial futures. Whether that means maximizing your contributions to take advantage of 2025 limits, exploring the new community resources, or simply scheduling a one-on-one meeting with Michele to discuss your specific situation, the tools are available.
The quarterly reviews serve as more than just performance reports: they're invitations to engage more deeply with your retirement planning. In a world of increasing complexity, Castle Rock PEP remains committed to making retirement planning simpler, more transparent, and more effective for every participant.
As Michele concluded her Halloween-themed presentation, the message was clear: while the markets may have their seasonal fluctuations, the fundamentals of smart retirement planning remain constant: consistent contributions, diversified investments, low costs, and professional management. The rest is just noise.
Ready to dive deeper into your retirement planning? Visit our community page to explore the new resources, or reach out to schedule your personalized consultation. Simplifying retirement for all. One plan. Every business.