Consistency counts.
While the 401k industry has discussed financial wellness ad nauseum, it needs to do a MUCH better job of getting the word out to the public.
After all the products, pitches, talk and conference sessions devoted to the topic, in 71 percent of cases plan sponsors and participants were only engaged in pilot programs, periodic campaigns, or one-time initiatives, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Only 27 percent reported that their financial wellness initiatives consisted of holistic programs.
This is occurring even though, among firms with any level of interest in financial wellbeing programs, more than one-quarter rated themselves as being highly concerned about their employees’ financial well-being.
“EBRI’s survey reveals that even among the most motivated employers, it is early days when it comes to offering financial wellness initiatives,” Lori Lucas, the organization’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “Even defining what is meant by financial wellbeing and what constitutes financial wellness initiatives can be challenging.”
The report showed that employers cite everything from employee discount programs to student loan repayment subsidies and emergency savings vehicles as part of their arsenal of financial wellness initiatives.
The survey was fielded online in July 2018 and reflects the responses of 250 full-time benefits decision makers. All respondents worked at companies with at least 500 employees that were interested in offering financial wellness programs.
It showed that employers that did report offering holistic financial wellness programs were more likely to cite “value proposition to employees” as their top consideration.
They were also most likely to subsidize these initiatives, with 21 percent citing an average annual cost per employee of more than $500.
More broadly, 43 percent of employers reported the annual cost per employee of current financial wellness initiatives as $50 or less.
“Because employers are generally footing the cost for these programs themselves, they want to be able to be able to demonstrate that the programs are effective,” Lucas added. “That’s why there is so much focus on pilot and one-off programs.”
The survey found that 80 percent of employers noted that a human resources professional was either a primary or secondary champion in implementing financial wellness initiatives.
“Once the pilot or one-off program is implemented, we’re hearing that the key is to demonstrate its success so that it can be made more broadly available,” Lucas concluded.
According to the survey, measures of success include improved overall worker satisfaction, reduced employee stress, worker satisfaction with financial wellness initiatives, and improved employee retention.
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.