Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of nonprofit, Transamerica Institute, and its Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS), was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA), a leading trade association for providers of employment-based retirement plans. The award recognizes individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the retirement industry, and who have influenced and improved retirement security.
Catherine has made many such contributions over her career. In 1998, she played a key role in the development and launch of the annual Transamerica Retirement Survey, which explores retirement and healthy-aging perspectives across different demographics in the US. The survey has become one of the largest and longest-running studies of its kind.
In 2002, Catherine founded the TCRS to increase the impact of the survey and, in 2013, she spearheaded the creation of the Transamerica Institute, a private foundation dedicated to strengthening the US retirement system, expanding access to workplace retirement plans, improving financial literacy, and helping ensure that people can retire with dignity. This helped to further broaden the scope of research and education on health, longevity, workforce, and financial literacy. Since 2020, she has expanded the scope of the Transamerica Retirement Survey to include even more insights on American’s health and financial well-being.
Catherine also impacts US retirement policy via her membership of the leadership council of think tank, the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, and by providing expert insights to US congressional hearings and the media.
PSCA executive director, Will Hansen, praised Catherine for her dedication to research and advocacy for public policy changes. He said: “We are proud to recognize Catherine for her extensive contributions to the retirement industry that have shaped the landscape of retirement planning for the better.”