PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2019 - 8

Survey Says
Financial
'Know-How'
Education
I
t used to be that plan sponsors focused
on retirement readiness. But this attention
brought to light the need for financial
education, now known in the industry
as financial wellness. We asked NewsDash
readers, " What financial wellness topics
are covered in education your company
offers employees, and about which of those
topics do you need to learn more? "
Respondents cited investment basics
(67.9%), budgeting (57.1%) and simple
strategies for proper investing (42.9%)
as topics their company educates workers
about. As to what respondents would like
to learn more about, themselves, wills
and estate planning (42.9%), strategies
for creating income in retirement
(32.1%), how to pay for caregiving (25%)
and tax-saving strategies (25%) topped
the list.
All verbatim responses to the survey
reflect the opinions of individual readers
and not the stance of PLANSPONSOR or
its affiliates at Institutional Shareholder
Services Inc. (ISS).
Financial Topics That
Plan Sponsors Think They
Should Learn More About,
Themselves
43%
Estate
planning
32%
Strategies for
creating income
in retirement
25%
Paying for
caregiving
25%
Tax-saving
strategies
" I hate financial topics-they are dry
and totally uninteresting. But, like lawyers,
they are a necessary evil (I can say that
because I am a lawyer). So, I have to force
myself to listen to the information and stay
awake during the process. "
" It's hard to teach people the discipline
to look long-term. "
" I need more education on Medicare
and supplemental insurance in retirement, as
well as how to optimize Social Security benefits
when both spouses have accrued benefits. "
" By the time people hit the workforce,
it's almost too late for financial basics.
We need to rethink algebra and geometry
(when's the last time you did a geometric
proof IRL?) and replace them with topics
such as calculating interest, understanding
credit, banking basics, etc. "
" Financial know-how and education-
there is never enough. I just wish time was
spent educating people on how to do their job. "
" I used to volunteer at a local school
teaching basic budgeting, taxes, benefits
and how to save. Unfortunately, the schools
don't have time to teach those classes now,
and it shows. "
" The cry for financial education is
another indication that employees expect
employers to do too much. Financial information
is available all over the place, but few
choose to seek it on their own. All you need
to know is: Spend less than you make; build
an emergency fund; resist debt; and save for
retirement. This is not rocket science. "
" Other than general 401(k) on-site
meetings and webinars, we rely on our
employees visiting vendors' sites. More
should be done, but 'We don't have the
resources.' In other words, priorities of benefits
staff are elsewhere. "
" As a church, we provide this education
not only to our staff but to our congregation.
Reducing financial stress can improve their
physical and mental health as well as the
health of their marriages. "
" I am fortunate to work for an investment
advisory firm, where any information
or tools we need regarding our personal
finances are at our fingertips. In turn, we
pass on our knowledge to our plan sponsor
clients and their participants-helping one
person at a time become more financially
savvy makes a difference! "
And the Editor's Choice goes to
the reader who said: " We try to teach
our employees about simple, day-to-day
spending habits. Most of our employees are
young, single males. Reducing that beer
budget is tough! " -Rebecca Moore
You can participate by subscribing to NewsDash at plansponsor.com/subscribe.
8 PLANSPONSOR.com October - November 2019
Art by Simone Virgini

http://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2019/TrackLink.action?pageName=8&exitLink=http%3A%2F%2Fplansponsor.com%2Fsubscribe http://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2019/TrackLink.action?pageName=8&exitLink=http%3A%2F%2FPLANSPONSOR.com

PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - October/November 2019