Financial Wellness Programs taking on a new importance
At a TPSU program held at UC Irvine, Adjunct Lecturer John Spach from NFP Retirement talks about the next generation of financial wellness programs aimed at managing participant behavior, not educating them. With more at stake and the convergence of benefit budgets, John says that employers sponsoring a defined contribution (DC) plan should expect and demand more from these programs – a topic he will explore with Hugh O’Toole from Viability AG and Joe DeNoyior from Washington Financial Group today at 4:00 ET on:
401kTV’s Master Class on “Engaging Senior Management in the Company’s DC Plan”. Register now!
When John sits down one on one with participants in his 180 DC plans, he has found that financial literacy education, especially when discussing allocating investments, do not hit home. People are more concerned about debt so the focus is on finding ways to lower it by managing spending behavior. Changing these dynamics will have more impact than picking the best small cap fund.
He finds that more and more employers agree that the concept is important but they are not sure how to implement engaging financial wellness programs. John stresses those employees that feel more financial secure are:
- Absent less often
- More productive when they are at work
- Less likely to change jobs looking for a little more money
John also focuses on helping people manage their entire benefits budget, not just their DC plan or financial wellness programs.
Switching from DB to DC programs as well as to high deductible healthcare plans puts more liability and responsibility on individuals to take control of their benefits and retirement planning. Most are not equipped and resources to help them will only be allocated when senior management realizes the impact they can have on not just lowering costs when people are able to retire on time replaced by younger workers but also by a more productive and less stressed workforce. Learn practical ways to engage senior management in these discussions today at 4:00 ET on 401kTV’s latest Master Class.
