“We continue to see employers augment their retirement education efforts and overall corporate wellness programs with a component of financial education,” says Sheri Kehren, vice president and program manager of financial workplace wellness at Fifth Third Bank.
Fifth Third Bank and Dave Ramsey have “a long-standing relationship that began in 2010 with the Bank’s sponsorship of Ramsey’s financial education curriculum for high school students.” In February 2014, the bank and Ramsey began a collaboration to offer Ramsey’s CORE Financial Wellness program to the Bank’s retirement plan clients.
Ramsey Solutions announced in January 2015 that the CORE program would evolve into SmartDollar, a holistic financial wellness program designed to educate and inspire employees to proactively take control of their money and get on track for retirement. SmartDollar features a customizable user portal, new online tools and materials, overhauled budgeting software, and updated high-definition video lessons.
Leslie Koenig, vice president of retirement benefits at Fifth Third Bank, says the firm looks forward to giving clients quality financial planning tools and more robust education.
A number of other advisory and plan administration firms have partnered with Ramsey on SmartDollar, including ABG in Illinois and the Fiduciary Plan Advisors team at HighTower.