Financial wellness continues to be a topic of interest—indeed, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic issues of financial as well as physical health arguably loom larger than ever. But are we closer to a workable definition? And how about that ROI?
According to data from Cogent Syndicated’s Retirement Plan Advisor Trends report, despite strong demand from plan participants and signs of financial wellness programs’ effectiveness, the overall availability of these programs is down from 38% in 2021 to 31% in 2022. That decline stems largely from fewer emerging DC advisors—those managing less than $10 million in DC AUM—offering financial wellness programs at 22%, down from 36% last year, according to the firm’s data. However, more than half (51%) of DC specialists—managing $50 million or more in DC AUM—are currently offering these programs.
That said, the fifth annual Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) Financial Wellbeing Employer Survey found that financial wellbeing programs are being added or improved to increase worker satisfaction and retention. Yet, costs continue to be reported as the top challenge in offering financial wellbeing programs. Consequently, employers are looking for ways to measure their impact through the lens of employee satisfaction, retention and productivity.
This week, we’d like to know what you’re thinking—and doing—and how that meshes with the expectations of your plan sponsor clients. REPLY to this week’s NAPA Net Reader Radar Poll at https://www.research.net/r/5VZG7T2
And we’ll give you a temperature read on financial wellness—on Friday!
