PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2020 - 15

Employers Hold the Key to
Financial Well-Being in the
Age of COVID-19
By Phil Mason
W
crisis of confidence about our
e're dealing with the most significant
public health concern of
our lifetime. And it's led to a
financial
futures. Right now, this is top of mind for
everyone-rich or poor, employed or
unemployed, and at every career stage.
And as we know, financial stress can take
a huge toll on emotional and physical wellbeing
as well as on job performance.
Now, financial stress-aggravated
by COVID-19-is the leading cause of
lost productivity, unplanned absences,
low job performance, and distractions
among workers.
How Employers Can
Support Their People
Clearly, people need support. Given
our new landscape, benefits have never
been as valuable, and people have never
been as engaged and receptive as they
are today. Fortunately, employers are
uniquely positioned to help them. How?
By providing communication, education,
and holistic wellness programs.
1.
authentically,
Communicate
and
conferences-to
frequently,
transparently.
Throughout the pandemic, employers have
used a variety of media-digital, print,
Zoom
communicate
with their employees about protecting
themselves and their families, accessing
benefits, and taking advantage of critical
information as soon as it's available. And, as
boundaries continue to blur between work
and home, senior
leaders are speaking
more authentically and transparently about
their own experiences, which has further
strengthened the trust employees have in
their employers.
2. Provide financial education and
training. The key to success is tailoring
offerings to specific age groups and/or
the financial issues faced by individual
sectors of their workforce.
3. Offer a holistic financial wellness
program. Any program focusing on
financial well-being needs to have the
right mix of benefits to support employees'
emotional and physical health, alleviate
anxiety, and drive productivity.
Tackling the Right Mix
of Benefits
Today's workplace is marked with a level
of diversity unlike any in history. Right now,
there are up to five different generations
in an increasingly multicultural workforce,
along with corresponding socioeconomic
differences and varying ranges of financial
literacy.
With so many variables at play, to get a
mix of benefits that reflects and addresses
this heterogeneity, employers need to
consider two key factors.
First, a holistic wellness package
should include a mix of high-touch features
like access to a financial advisor and lowtouch
offerings like savings incentives.
And, second, benefits should be
meaningful and smart-not just for now,
but over the long term.
Notable examples that fit both of these
criteria are high-deductible health plans
(HDHPs) and the health savings accounts
(HSAs) that they're typically paired with.
A health savings account is unlike any
other savings account, because it's both
a spending and savings account.
Accountholders can contribute tax-free1
to their HSAs and use their HSA funds to
pay qualified health expenses for themselves
and their dependents, now and
later-even in retirement. That's because
the account is always theirs. Even if
they change employers, retire, or find
themselves no longer enrolled in a highdeductible
health plan, accountholders
can continue to pay for qualified health
expenses with the money in their HSA.
How HSAs Can Cushion the
Blow During Emergencies
With
the
national
unemployment
rate
hovering at just over 10%, people at every
point along the economic spectrum are
struggling to make ends meet.
HSAs can help people manage during
unpredictable times, because they're a
great place to stash emergency savings.
I cannot overemphasize the advantages a
health savings account brings to the table,
particularly in light of what we've seen in
the past six months.
We don't know what the future will look
like. But we do know that whatever the
scenario, it's essential that people have
a range of benefits they understand how
to use. In particular, financial benefits that
allow them to accrue savings they can
access in an emergency and build on for
the future. Employers are perfectly positioned
to help them achieve both. l
1 States can choose to follow the federal tax-treatment guidelines for HSAs or establish their
own; some states tax HSA contributions. If you have questions about your tax implications,
consult your tax advisor.
As Executive Vice President, COO & Director of Healthcare Services for UMB Institutional
Banking, Phil Mason is responsible for the Healthcare Services line of business within
Institutional Banking. He focuses on executing strategic initiatives within the division and
oversees the division's financial performance, daily operations, and compliance teams,
among other groups.
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