It’s almost like asking what if pigs could fly. What if you could assign a financial wellness coach to employees in your 401(k) plan, without adding hard-dollar costs? That question is at the heart of a new book entitled Financial Wellness Featuring Edge 401(k) Funds by financial industry veterans Tom Ruggie, ChFC, CFP and Michael Case Smith.
“We wrote the book after participating in years of enrollment meetings, and realizing the traditional way of reaching out to employees–with glossy brochures and videos – has done little to actually engage them and get them involved in preparing for their retirement,” said Ruggie, Edge 401(k) Funds President, who, in his role as CEO of Ruggie Wealth Management was recognized among Barron’s 2015 Top 1,200 Financial Advisors.
Noting that in the United States, 94 percent of companies offer a 401(k), he says retirement savings continue to fall way short.
“Study after study has shown how coaching employees on the things that could make them financially healthier, such as budgeting, debt management, and planning for life’s little surprises, can reduce their overall stress. A financially-healthy workforce can decrease absenteeism, healthcare costs, and turnover. This is beneficial to employees and employers.”
In 2014, Ruggie and Smith partnered with Alta Trust to create the Edge Collective Fund Series to create Edge 401(k) Funds, which claims to be the first firm of its kind to “offer an array of financial wellness services to participants who choose to invest in these Funds, at no additional hard-dollar cost to them or their employers.”
“Existing Employee Assistance Programs provide seminars, research, and take inbound calls for a hard-dollar cost – often as much as $50-150/head. Other options require investments on the part of the employees,” said Smith, who has testified at US Senate, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Department of Labor hearings on Wall Street conflicts of interest.
“Our book explains our new twist on the old concept of 401(k)s, in which we assign a wellness coach to employees who select our funds. These coaches pro-actively reach out individually to employees at least three times a year to talk about any financial issue on their minds–from reducing debt to financing a home or a child’s college education, paying off student loans to saving for a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he added. “While everyone understands the benefit of a traditional wellness benefit, our book explains the many advantages of adding a financial wellness component to a firm’s benefits.”
The Funds have already been made available on more than 20 platforms including many large insurance companies, Charles Schwab Trust, Fidelity Trust, and TD Ameritrade Trust, and can be added to an existing plan or included as part of a new 401(k) plan.
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.
