PLANSPONSOR - July - August 2023 - 10

UPFRONT
How to Support Neurodivergent Employees
H
elping employees who are neurodivergent
select benefits and plan
for retirement often requires both specialized
knowledge and new approaches.
Some experts such as Anthony Pacilio,
vice president of neurodiverse solutions at
CAI, a technology services company, see an
opportunity for plan sponsors to develop
best practices to engage these populations
and address their specific planning needs.
Tammy
Harper,
chief
human
resources officer at CAI, has found success
by communicating frequently and across
multiple channels. The firm hosts monthly
virtual office hours and what she calls
" power hours " to present benefit options,
discuss topics and answer questions. The
benefits director is available for one-on-one
meetings, and employees may send questions
to a benefits email inbox, she says.
Social Security and Medicaid
When companies ask Elizabeth Wolleben
Yoder to discuss financial planning with
a group of neurodivergent employees, she
never expects to answer all questions in
one session. Indeed, she anticipates followup
queries and the need to address complex
topics unique to each person.
" It's not always within the capacity of
the plan sponsor to do it themselves, " says
Yoder, the director of financial planning
for Planning Across the Spectrum.
Retirement benefits can be especially
complicated for those who receive Social
Security as a disabled person because some
states allow individuals to build retirement
plan savings outside of the Medicaid
system, but others do not.
" It's a matter of making sure
employees know what they're eligible for
and, if they don't, finding ways to inform
them of their options, " Yoder says.
Those options are particularly important
at companies that automatically enroll
eligible employees right away. While
auto-enrollment into a retirement plan
is efficient, there might be unintended
10 PLANSPONSOR.COM July - August 2023 Art by Alex Eben Meyer
consequences for those who need to protect
their federal benefits.
" The employees are usually the ones
who have to stand up for themselves and
say, 'I can't be enrolled in that,' " Yoder says.
Ask the Question
Jenny McCosley, a senior wealth adviser at
Beacon Pointe Advisors, urges sponsors to
bear in mind that they might be unaware
which employees need extra assistance.
" With neurodivergence and disabilities,
probably 90% of the disabilities people
face are invisible, " McCosley says, noting
that " neurodivergent " is often applied to
the autism spectrum but can present as
dyslexia, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder or something
even less noticeable. " So you don't
know that a person needs help, necessarily,
unless they ask for it. "
Sponsors can provide that help
in various ways, through education or
additional support. This might include
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PLANSPONSOR - July - August 2023

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