UBS Initiates Rollout of Financial Wellness Offering

UBS Equity Plan Advisory Services released financial wellness digital content offering to equity compensation plan participants, which the firm says is a step towards a broader workplace financial wellness rollout to its corporate clients.

UBS Equity Plan Advisory Services (EPAS) announced the release of a financial wellness digital content offering to equity compensation plan participants.

The firm gathered qualitative data from its corporate clients and participants to determine their needs and wants, which helped to inform and validate its strategy. “Our findings were clear. Clients were extremely interested in providing non-monetary benefits such as greater access to financial literacy trainings, personal finance tools and general education that could help advance their employees’ overall well-being. Their feedback was instrumental in shaping a multi-faceted learning experience for participants regardless of income, age, and current financial acumen,” says Michael Barry, head of UBS Equity Plan Advisory Services at UBS Financial Services Inc.

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In addition to showcasing the firm’s own thought leadership, EPAS sought out a slate of non-traditional content partners to collaborate with including Napkin Finance, Aon Equity Services and Imprint, to create a variety of content that gives participants interesting, yet simple ways to get practical knowledge about equity compensation and their money. The primary aim of this new content offering is to make the financial lives of participants’ better, by connecting them with the information they need to boost progress to their broader financial goals.

The new content experience delivers a variety of videos, infographics, articles and gamified content to encourage engagement and empower employees to learn more about topics such as planning, budgeting, saving, managing debt, investing, retirement and more.

A survey found equity compensation participants say they would take advantage of a financial wellness program—which would provide education, tools and resources to help with their overall financial health—if it were offered by their employer. Two-thirds of respondents who have access to this benefit take advantage of it, and most participants (96%) find it helpful when making equity compensation decisions.

UBS says the debut of the financial wellness digital content is only a step towards a broader workplace financial wellness rollout that goes beyond equity plan participants. Beginning with this launch, UBS intends to deliver a comprehensive set of workplace wellness services and tools to the firm’s existing corporate client base of over 10,000 clients, and plans to expand to prospective clients. The full offering will provide participants access to personalized financial assistance from licensed UBS Financial Advisors, starting with a wellness assessment followed by ongoing help to meet their unique needs. It will also include seminars and webinars to educate employees on a wide range of topics focused on building personal financial knowledge and healthier financial habits.

myStockOptions.com Updates Website With Education on Tax Reform

myStockOptions.com has updated its website with information on the 2018 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act.

myStockOptions notes that financial planning at year-end 2018 is more important than ever for employees with equity compensation who are evaluating whether to exercise stock options, sell shares acquired from equity compensation or donate company stock to charities.

“Employees with equity grants, employee stock purchase plans and company shares should be aware of the 2018 and 2019 thresholds for higher tax rates on compensation income and capital gains, the additional Medicare tax on compensation income, and the Medicare surtax on investment income,” says Bruce Brumberg, editor in chief of myStockOptions.com. “They may want to consider keeping their income below those known thresholds, if possible, while evaluating whether there is enough withholding to cover the taxes owed.”

myStockOptions has updated its year-end planning section with articles and FAQs. Articles include, “Leading Advisers Reveal Year-End Strategies for Equity Comp and Company Stock,” “Six Ways Tax Reform Affects Your Stock Compensation and Financial Planning,” and “Making Gifts and Donations of Company Stock.”

FAQs include answers to several questions, including what should be on a 2018 year-end checklist of items to review, know and consider about stock compensation and how tax retorm affects stock compensation.

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