It is the dog days of August. Just for you, at the end of this edition, we’re going on a road trip together. And for now, snag yourself something icy and a comfortable chair, possibly in front of a fan. It’s time to catch up on the world of retirement savings innovation:

• Is retirement savings the ultimate ledger for personal financial wellness? This and four more hot topics from Aspen’s Ida Rademacher and Karen Andres

• We are BLOWING UP the state metrics this edition, check it out

• Updates from California, Colorado, Connecticut, and New Jersey

• Anchors Away! Duke’s Perry Wright on these, and defaults

• Hot Sauce! Cool stuff just for you

• Whew! Pix of the week, possibly from your state …

This week we chat with Ida Rademacher, Vice President and Director of Aspen’s Financial Security Program, and Karen Andres, Director of Policy and Market Solutions for the Program. We’re hitting four hot topics: the power of automatic enrollment. What happens when we re-imagine retirement? Innovation among our financial services providers. And maybe most importantly, the call for a national strategy on financial inclusion.

Defaults and Anchors are powerful because they operate on three behavioral principles. They make choices easy. They provide an implicit endorsement. And they endow users with a status quo that they have to actively choose to change. How can you use defaults and anchors to give your users a big nudge toward better outcomes? With Perry Wright of Duke University.