Archive for the 'Financial Education' Category

Impact 401(k) Participation with Open Enrollment

Connecting retirement benefits to the health benefit open enrollment period can dramatically increase 401(k) participation, found Bank of America Merrill Lynch.  By providing easy “one-click” access to enroll in or make

Benefits Communications

Drive 401(k) participation by tying to Open Enrollment

contribution changes to 401(k) plans during open enrollment, employers have seen an increase in participation.   The study showed an 11% year-over-year increase in the number of employees making a change to their retirement plan election as a result of the association with the health care open enrollment period.  And nearly all of these election changes were positive (93%), meaning employees started or increased contributions to a plan.

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Published by Joe Larocque on March 9, 2011

How to Get Started with Financial Wellness

A recent study by Fidelity and the NBGH revealed that employer spending on wellness programs grew 43% to $154/employee in 2010. This level of growth and investment provides evidence that wellness

Financial Wellness

Start with a Financial Health Assessment

initiatives are:   (1) becoming much more comprehensive and (2) demonstrating tangible business value.

In our own experiences with HR professionals, we see the expansion every day.  Wellness strategies are evolving and many employers are looking to better understand how employee money issues are impacting the productivity of their organization.

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Published by Joe Larocque on February 25, 2011

Effective Benefits Communications: Balance the Tell with the Show

Engage employees with video and social media

Video and social media are the way to engage employees these days, says Brian Baker, Vice President at Aon Hewitt Consultants, in a recent interview with Benefits TV.

Baker discusses balancing the “tell” with the “show” by crafting benefits messages using video.

Aon Hewitt presents their four Cs to an effective strategy for employee benefits communications and change management-through-engagement. They recommend utilizing video and social mediums to disseminate communications that are:

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Published by Sophie Asmar on February 9, 2011

Retirement Benefits Education a Sizable Motivator

Employees seek retirement advice from their employers

A majority of people have agreed they would like more guidance from their employer about how to achieve retirement goals according to the 11th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey.

Perhaps not surprisingly, employees with a higher overall education level are more likely to be financially well in retirement. Only 63% of employees with only a high school diploma participated in a retirement plan, as opposed to 84% of those with a college degree.

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Published by Sophie Asmar on February 8, 2011

Benefits Communications & The Talent Migration

Once upon a time, the number one priority for benefits programs was to attract, motivate and retain talented employees.  That time was 2007.  As the economy melted down and layoffs began, retention quickly took a backseat to benefits cost cutting priorities.

Benefits Communications

Benefits Communications Turn Risk Into Opportunity

As the economy improves, the tide may be turning once again according to several new studies.   Here are some key findings:

  • Up to 60% of top performing employees plan to leave their organization within the next year

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Published by Joe Larocque on December 16, 2010

Financial Well Being Index

Despite the optimism regarding the economy in 2011, employees are still feeling cautious about their money,

Financial Wellness

Employees Remain Cautious

according to the Q4:2010 Principal Financial Well-Being Index survey.  Here are some of the key takeaways:

  • Half of employees did not feel better about their financial situation than they did a year ago. Nearly 40% of employees were still cautious about the economy.
  • 72% of employees are concerned about their long-term financial future.

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Published by Joe Larocque on December 5, 2010

Benefits Communication ROI: FSA Enrollment

Better education leads to higher FSA enrollment, which saves employers money on taxes.

Good benefits communication can raise employee Flexible Spending Account enrollment by 20% or more, a recent study found. The benefits of an FSA may be obvious to the seasoned HR Director, but not all employees – or employers – know how valuable these accounts can be.

Both employee and employer enjoy significant tax savings when FSAs are used. Employees save on federal and FICA taxes, plus any additional state and local taxes on medical items paid for through their FSA.

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Published by Sophie Asmar on November 23, 2010

Financial Wellness Makes the “Mega-Trends” List

If you’re a student of employee wellness programs, and if you’re reading this blog, I can assume that you are, you might be interested in a recent Employee Benefits News Blog that breaks down the “7 Emerging

Mega-Trends That Will Change Wellness Communication… Forever.”

Financial Wellness

Financial Wellness is a Key Component of your Wellness Strategy

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Published by Joe Larocque on October 25, 2010

Financial Wellness – Breaking Down the Barriers to Adoption

In a new study conducted by the Personal Financial Employee Education Foundation (PFEEF) and Employee Benefits News (EBN), 70% of respondents thought that workplace financial education is important or extremely important to the overall level of productivity in their organization.

Other notable findings included:

  • 51% of employers surveyed saw an increase in employee wage garnishments
  • 42% of employers surveyed saw an increase in employee emergency loans
  • 34% employers surveyed saw an increase in employee requests for time off to deal with personal financial issues

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Published by Joe Larocque on August 27, 2010

Financial Wellness – A Key Hiring Criteria?

An amazing 60% of companies used candidates’ credit reports to help make hiring decisions in 2009, according to a recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) poll.

So, the natural question is why a credit score of all things would be used to evaluate a prospective employee?

One likely reason might be that employers worry that a poor credit score indicates a lack of responsibility that could ultimately translate into poor performance.

Credit score indicative of a poor performer?

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Published by Joe Larocque on August 23, 2010