Talking Wellness Programs
Getting employees engaged in their retirement plan is the next frontier for defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors. Although the ideal plan with automatic enrollment and escalation plus the stretch match gets workers 80% of the way to accumulating enough money for retirement, engagement is essential especially as people get closer to retirement. A 2500 employee California based healthcare company attending a TPSU program held at UC Irvine explains how she got 95% of her employees to participate in her financial wellness program.
The company, which has mobile workers, has holistic wellness programs incorporating physical, financial and spiritual wellness. In order to get the extra $20 per paycheck, employees must earn points to stay in the company’s wellness program. One of the ways to earn points is to take a test after watching a video on financial literacy from their provider and score at least 80% right. The company was able to get 95% participation even though many workers are remote and hard to reach.
Along with the incentive, the California based plan sponsor said that the test was key – people bragged about their score. It became like a contest. Incentives to participate in wellness programs might seem trite but they work. Witness the Massachusetts based plan sponsor who thought that providing food at enrollment meetings were no longer necessary – attendance dropped dramatically.
Most companies have marketing departments but don’t think to use them to promote their company’s benefits and wellness programs. Though attracting clients is essential to the health of a company, so is the physical and financial wellness of their employees who not only are more productive at work but also are more likely to retire on time saving the company money and opening the way for younger workers.
