Planning and saving for retirement isn’t a game, but that doesn’t mean using a “coach” can’t help employees improve their financial wellness score.
BrightPlan, a Silicon Valley technology company, launched the patent-pending “BrightPlan Financial Wellness Coach” on Aug. 28, a first-of-its-kind digital experience that the company says helps employees achieve financial wellness with ongoing guidance and actionable next steps.
Powered by cognitive computing and AI, the BrightPlan Coach creates a personalized financial plan, advising on every major aspect of personal finance: spending analysis, goals-based planning, investing, debt management, estate planning, insurance, and financial education.
The coach also calculates a financial wellness score. Based on a 500-point system, the score continually measures an employee’s progress against their financial plan and also reflects changes in the financial markets.
By gamifying the financial wellness process, BrightPlan says employees are encouraged to take steps to increase their score suggesting opportunities right in BrightPlan mobile and web app.
It’s not just aimed at employees. BrightPlan also calculates an aggregate Financial Wellness Score for an employer.
The employer score, which uses anonymized employee data, helps identify gaps in the financial wellness of employee groups. With those insights, BrightPlan says it can help employers offer applicable financial education to employees, promote existing, under-utilized benefits, or recommend new benefits.
Addressing the knowledge gap
The company says employers today have no true understanding of their employees’ financial wellness nor the increasing financial stress they are under. Research has repeatedly shown that financial stress is the top concern in the workplace.
“Financial wellness is a universal need, like quality healthcare and education,” said Marthin De Beer, CEO and Founder of BrightPlan. “Across the country, a lack of financial acumen and access to quality financial advice have caused undue stress for employees and has been a notable drag on corporate performance. The financial services industry has unduly profited from this knowledge gap for decades.
“BrightPlan fundamentally changes the equation by maximizing the financial potential of employees and employers,” he said. “BrightPlan’s Financial Wellness Coach and Financial Wellness Score empower employees to understand where they are today and where they need to go.”
From a strategic perspective, De Beer said the platform can improve the top line through greater employee productivity, engagement, and loyalty. It can also improve the bottom line by reducing turnover, healthcare, and retirement costs.
BrightPlan does not sell or manage the actual retirement plans, and as more of an HR benefits provider doesn’t compete with 401k administrators but does compete against other financial wellness providers.
The coach’s playbook
- The BrightPlan Coach recommends which funds to select and how to invest in an employer’s 401k program based on the employee’s financial plan. It also offers goals-based asset allocation recommendations for investment accounts held by an employee at other financial institutions.
- BrightPlan provides fully automated investment management, providing employees with a low-cost, sophisticated solution to implement their investment plan.
- The BrightPlan Financial Wellness Score is derived from an employee’s individual circumstances, not third-party surveys that provide a static snapshot.
- The digital coach is complemented by a team of financial advisors from Plancorp, a sister firm and a SEC-registered advisor with more than $4 billion in assets under management. The combination of digital advice and human advisors helps employees in all aspects of their financial lives and is a wholly unique approach to financial wellness, according to the company.
- BrightPlan says it is the only digital financial wellness provider certified by CEFEX for fiduciary excellence, delivering independent advice in the employee’s best interest.
“Financial wellness is the most important new employee benefit in a generation, and it fundamentally redefines the contract between employers and employees,” De Beer said. “By providing employees access to sophisticated and personalized financial advice, employers are investing in their most valuable asset—their people.”
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.