State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski speaks to attendees of a presentation during America Saves Week 2020.

America Saves Week is a national campaign that encourages individuals and families to save money and build personal wealth. For the past five years, UW System has worked with financial companies and institutions to coordinate on-site workshops and individual counseling sessions for employees across the state at no cost to them.

This year, UW System had the honor of welcoming State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski to the “Women and Retirement” workshop held at the UW-Extended Campus Research Park building on February 25, 2020. As Chair of the Retirement Task Force, she spoke to attendees about her focus on finding solutions for retirement security for Wisconsin residents and she asked them why they chose to attend the “Women and Retirement” workshop, opening a dialogue that was honest and insightful. Participants shared that they attended because they were interested to see where they were at compared to the average participant, that they didn’t want to be a burden to their children in retirement, and that they wanted to financially independent before getting married and having children.

During America Saves Week 2020, across the UW System, there were 23 on-site workshops, 11 days of individual counseling sessions, 6 days of credit check-ups, and 15 webinars. With more than 450 unique participants for 2020, UW System wants to thank attendees for their participation and ongoing feedback that makes events like America Saves Week possible.