Wellness assessments across the table can make a difference for participants and advisors alike. Wellness trends have been moving toward delivering personalized guidance for workplace participants. That’s largely because one-to-one advice is what participants want. It’s also because one-size-fits-all guidance has proven to be largely ineffective. One-size-fits-all type guidance fails to move the needle on overall financial health. Financial advisors are gravitating towards the opportunity to engage financial wellness and retirement plan participants by delivering tailored advice.
The question now becomes, how do financial advisors figure out what participants need so they can provide a more personalized experience? What type of wellness assessment can companies, such as Prudential and Fidelity use to leverage technology? Are firms now able to leverage technology by offering an online financial wellness assessment. Such wellness assessment tools can pose a series of questions that help pinpoint participants’ specific financial challenges and goals. Even the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a financial well-being assessment. Based on these financial wellness assessments, financial advisors can proactively put together a customized action plan. The corresponding plan can then cater to each participants’ individual needs. Subsequently, when the advisor meets with each participant, there can be tailored recommendations to help the participant meet their individual goals.
One benefit of delivering personalized advice as the result of an up-front wellness assessment is, it establishes an early connection between each participant and the advisor. Participants want to feel seen and heard by someone who understands their challenges. They want real-world guidance to help address their financial concerns. Financial stress is on the rise, especially with soaring inflation, looming recession, and the threat of layoffs. Participants want reassurance that they can take charge of their finances and achieve their goals through any type of financial environment. During a one-on-one meeting, the financial advisor can help to deliver a true reassurance and offer actionable solutions to help participants gain confidence. This is the confidence the participant needs to manage their personal finances day-to-day and for the long term.
Personalized advice can help improve overall financial well-being and retirement readiness. Americans have been struggling to meet financial goals on their own. They want and need expert guidance from a financial advisor to help them achieve their goals when it comes to their money. Financial wellness and corresponding wellness assessments should be at the top of every employer’s priority list. Today, more companies are leveraging overall wellness assessments to help participants understand where they are and the next steps to improving one’s situation. The wellness assessment is a logical entry point for advisors who want to connect with workplace retirement plan participants and financial wellness program participants. Financial advisors have an opportunity to use these tools to deliver proactive, customized advice and hopefully, create loyal clients for life.
