Next best action and similar innovations to help people make informed decisions are center stage and increasingly a part of efforts to help workers maximize their benefits spending.
“Voya found that seven in 10 employees (73%) are interested in tools to help them understand how much to put aside for retirement, emergency savings and health care expenses”
On Wednesday, Voya Financial launched a new “holistic benefits selection experience”— myHealth&Wealth—that offers personalized digital guidance to help employees optimize their household spending across health insurance benefits, emergency savings, and saving for retirement.
Powered by fintech SAVVI Financial, Voya said created myHealth&Wealth as “a technology-enabled, interactive experience that helps employees think about their benefits contributions and savings as a total “benefits budget,” while providing individuals with a personalized action plan.”
It will initially be available to Voya’s larger workplace clients and customers, as well as Voya employees.
“On the employee side, a recent Voya survey found that 72% of employees eligible for benefits say they would prefer visiting the dentist, servicing their car or preparing for tax season over reviewing their benefit options,” Rob Grubka, CEO of Health Solutions with Voya Financial, said in a statement. “As a result, it’s clear that many employees view managing their retirement plan and selecting and enrolling in their employee benefits as a chore.”
The complexities associated with managing multiple health and retirement benefits rings true for employers as well, he added.
“For example, Voya research revealed that the majority of employers (77%) are interested in integrated solutions,” Grubka noted. “And employees also welcome digital tools that help them make more informed benefits decisions with their complete financial picture in mind.”
A separate Voya survey found that seven in 10 employees (73%) are interested in guidance and support tools that would help them understand how much money to put aside for retirement, emergency savings, and health care expenses.
How it works
During their company’s open enrollment period, employees will receive an invite to access myHealth&Wealth. It then guides the employee through a series of questions about their household, health coverage needs, and overall savings goals. myHealth&Wealth then provides guidance and a personalized action plan to help employees optimize their household spending across health insurance benefits, emergency savings, and retirement.
Employees are also able to interact and use sliders to see how small changes to their budget can potentially have a big impact on their future savings goals.
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
