Saving For Tomorrow Started Yesterday: Catching Up with Cassandra Taylor in Working@Duke’s 20th Year

In 2011, Cassandra Taylor urged Duke employees to save for retirement. Today, she can see the payoff of those decisions

Cassandra Taylor holds a 2011 issue of Working@Duke
Cassandra Taylor was featured on the cover of Working@Duke in 2011. Photo by Travis Stanley

This story is part of the celebration of the Working@Duke print publication's first 20 years. Since its first issue in 2006, the publication has grown into a dynamic digital source for employee news, storytelling, video and social media. Through 2026, check for more stories.

Cassandra Taylor spends her days talking to Duke staff and faculty about budgets, financial education resources and credit scores in her role as a Financial Guidance Counselor for Duke Credit Union.

That background in budgeting is part of what made Taylor a natural fit to be featured on the cover of the April 2011 issue of Working@Duke for the story, “Are You Saving Enough?”

Fifteen years ago, Taylor described how she was applying her workplace advice to her own finances as she sought to increase her monthly retirement contributions from 3 to 4%.

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At the time, Taylor explained that she was cutting back on eating out and “willing to forgo some luxuries now in order to have a more comfortable retirement later.”

The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s annual report on retirement confidence found that 39% of 1,007 workers surveyed in 2026 were “not too or not at all confident” they will have enough money in retirement. That figure has been rising since 2022 after reaching a high of 51% in 2011.

the April 2011 cover of Working@Duke
Cassandra Taylor was featured on the cover of the April 2011 issue of Working@Duke.

As Working@Duke celebrates its 20th anniversary, we caught up with Taylor to see how 15 years of saving have shaped her plans for the future.

When Taylor was featured in Working@Duke, what was happening in her life?

Taylor was 43 years old and three years into her position at Duke Credit Union when she talked to Working@Duke about saving for retirement. She was commuting each day from her home in Greensboro in a hybrid vehicle, which helped her save money on gasoline. She knew, even then, that it was important to think about her future.

“I was in my head preparing for retirement, even then,” Taylor said. “It was so ingrained in me to start saving, put as much as you can in.”

Why was it important for Taylor to share her story?

Although planning and budgeting are essential to Taylor’s credit union role, she realizes that not everyone prioritizes saving for retirement when it seems far away.

“Eighteen years ago, I assumed everybody saved, but they didn’t,” Taylor said recently. “When I work with some of the (credit union) members with budget counseling, I wonder, why not?

“So, I still encourage those who can to save a little something.”

What has changed in Taylor’s life since she was featured in Working@Duke?

Taylor is now 59 years old and jokes that she’s “gotten grayer.” But she’s also increased her retirement contributions to about 10% of her salary annually.

Cassandra Taylor reads Working@Duke
Cassandra Taylor says she has increased her retirement contribution to about 10% of her salary. Photo by Travis Stanley

Because of her attention to saving, she was able to purchase what she calls her “forever home’ in 2015, which she plans to have paid off by the time she retires in about 10 years. That means still cutting back on luxuries where she can.

“It’s a little tight, but I prefer to be ready for when retirement comes so that I’m comfortable and don’t have to worry about working once I leave,” she said.

What has kept Taylor at Duke?

Taylor has lived in Greensboro since she started at Duke in 2008. She has commuted each day for the past 18 years, but she says the 55-mile drive each way is a small price to pay.

“The benefits make it worth it for me,” she said. “The benefits, the job I do and the people I’ve helped.”

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