Recent data show employees lack knowledge when it comes to things like understanding 401ks and prioritizing financial goals, and the majority are looking to their employer to fill them in.
To help guide employer-sponsors and plan participants toward financial wellness, Lincoln Financial unveiled a new tool today dubbed Lincoln WellnessPATH.
“Financial wellness is about giving employees the tools and confidence they need to make smarter decisions in every aspect of their lives,” Sharon Scanlon, head of Customer Experience, Retirement Plan Services at Lincoln Financial Group, said in a statement.
“From everyday budgeting to goal setting and prioritization, we recognize that people want to understand and improve their current financial state.”
In fact, in its 2017 Retirement Power Participant Study, Lincoln Financial found:
- Over three-quarters (78 percent) of employees would like to better understand how their employer-sponsored retirement plan works.
- A quarter of retirement plan participants have sought information about eight-plus finance-related matters, such as predicting expenses in retirement, prioritizing financial goals and being on-track with savings.
- Over half (51 percent) of employees want to learn to budget more effectively.
- One in five employees say they put off saving for retirement because of competing expenses like mortgages, credit card debt, student loans and car loans.
And, most importantly, six in 10 employees consider their employer to be a primary source of information about financial topics.
Lincoln’s easy-to-use online tool was designed to support plan sponsors’ quest to help employees gain the financial knowledge necessary to reach their retirement savings goals. Participants are asked to complete a simple quiz, are given a wellness score and are then provided with actionable steps to improve that score.
“Lincoln WellnessPATH gives employees a clear picture of their finances so they can focus on larger goals, like saving for retirement. In addition, goals like paying off student loans, reducing debt and saving for college can be linked so users can keep track of their progress,” the company explained in a statement.
“Every employee has a different picture of what his or her retirement will look like, so we created multiple paths to help plan sponsors provide the flexibility employees need on their journey toward financial wellness—including actionable web content, on-site personal support and an interactive financial wellness tool,” Scanlon added.
Jessa Claeys is a writer, editor and graphic designer.
