Tag: financial wellness

Saving more and reducing financial stress are the top reasons employees would participate.

While college savings and student loan debt aren’t typically an area of focus for retirement plan advisers, new survey data suggests a few simple reminders can be a big help to clients; this is especially true when it comes to filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Overwhelmingly, employees surveyed by IonTuition agree with the statement, “I would like my company to offer a voluntary student loan assistance benefit.”

One element of the Financial Wellness 360 program is Lifestyle Benefits, a suite of self-service resources that help employees “address today’s financial challenges and prepare for tomorrow.”

Plan participants in the 50 and up age group are thinking about the transition to retirement because it is on the horizon, while the younger age groups are more preoccupied with budgeting and managing debt.

In a new Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey, 95% of employers who offer such benefits agree that their financial wellness programs have been effective at promoting work force management goals.

According to a new survey, 76% of employees say they understand the salient features of health savings accounts, or “HSAs,” yet only 12% could correctly identify the common attributes of an HSA in a simple quiz.

Participants will be able to monitor spending habits, manage finances and determine savings goals, says the firm. 

According to the firm, its new savings solution uses after-tax employee contributions to an existing retirement plan to build savings that can be accessed to cover emergencies.

After completing a simple quiz, employees are given a wellness score and actionable steps they can follow to improve that score.

“To transform saving into an engaging consumer experience rather than a financial services experience, employers must present it not as something difficult and unpleasant but as something that is achievable and interesting by using simplified language, useful tools and the ability to track progress in real time,” Mercer says

It also includes behavioral finance, educational and video sections.

Prudential says today’s financial wellness challenges may lead to tomorrow’s retirement shortfalls.

Implementation of the program is a collaboration between ABGMI and financial advisers to present meetings, webinars, email and messaging campaigns, and one-on-one personal chats that help maximize reach and engagement.

Sources at the 2018 PLANSPONSOR National Conference discussed financial wellness, choosing between Roth and pre-tax savings and saving for long-term health care expenses.

To help allay their fears, MetLife has issued the first of four white papers on financial wellness.

Financial Finesse observes ways employers drive repeat usage of financial wellness programs.

A PwC survey finds employees are struggling with debt and supporting adult children and aging parents, but also are not investing in their retirement plans properly or using health savings accounts (HSAs) to save for retirement health care costs.

Eighty percent of American workers surveyed said they would like to hear congressional candidates discuss retirement security.  

But less than half are willing to do the same for better health care benefits, Willis Towers Watson learned in a survey.