Employees are more engaged, too—the median participation rate in financial wellness programs is up to 50% from 30% in our last survey. However, most participants (52%) have accessed financial wellness programs through big, in-person group meetings, which now may prove challenging to do.
These programs are even more meaningful during a crisis, but today’s social distancing requires a revamp that may include online channels, small or individual teleconferencing or videoconferencing, and chatbots (software for online chats). All of this comes when participants may be tiring of lengthy online to-do lists.
Weighing Costs and Benefits in a Budget-Stretched Environment
Widespread economic uncertainty has changed the financial course for many participants—even those fortunate enough to have had access to financial wellness programs. As the impact of the pandemic plays out, plan sponsors offering financial wellness programs and other initiatives may soon have to choose between maintaining those programs and keeping their matches.
For larger plans, financial-wellness programs tend to be table stakes—a minimum requirement to compete with other large firms for talent. For smaller firms, the cost of those programs must be weighed against not only the program’s effectiveness but also the need to deliver other plan benefits.
The most common ways plan sponsors gather intelligence on effectiveness is through employee surveys (73%) and productivity reports (66%). Based on what sponsors told us, plans that offered financial wellness programs saw employees more engaged (61%), productive/focused (60%) and with a positive perception of the firm (60%).
These results suggest that financial wellness programs are indeed effective. But for many plan sponsors, there’s a question: Are these programs effective enough to justify the expense versus other needed benefits, including matching?
Broader Communications: Assessing Content and Delivery
Our survey also took a closer look at broader plan communications. Just under half of plan sponsors—and a higher percentage of large- to mega-size plans—said their communications initiatives will focus most on increasing savings, improving investment-option knowledge, fostering higher participation, improving financial literacy and encouraging appropriate asset allocation. These are always practical topics, and even more so in the current environment.
To connect with participants, plan sponsors tend to use traditional methods: email (64%), employee meetings (54%) and dedicated websites (48%) (Display). But many sponsors are open to new approaches—flexibility that’s being tested in the COVID-19 pandemic. As mentioned earlier, plan sponsors that prioritize in-person employee meetings must rethink their approach, with many participants working from home indefinitely.