The following articles have been taken from our contributed column, Education Expo, published by the Best Practices in Benefits & Compensation newsletter. Financial Finesse is a regular contributor to some of the leading industry publications.
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Best Practices for Managing Retirement Plans
- Retirement Readiness Programs For Employees Close to Retirement
A recent USA Today study on retirement preparedness, it was reported that, on average, an American aged 50 to 59 has just over $54,000 saved in a retirement plan at work. Financial planners recommend having at least $1 million to retire comfortably-or more-depending on your lifestyle.
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, April 2007 - The Retirement Education Revolution: What It Means for You and Your Clients
Today, as the boomer generation hits their 60s, they are redefining the retirement landscape as well. Once considered a passive time when you stopped working and relaxed, "retirement" for this generation means living longer and pursuing more active lifestyles than ever before.
Investment Advisor, December 2006 - Behind the Numbers: The Retirement Revolution
A quiet revolution is going on in the retirement planning industry. As a financial education company working directly with pre-retirees and retirees, we at Financial Finesse see evidence of it every day in the faces and questions of Baby Boomers who are preparing for a transition that is both exciting and terrifying, in numbers unheard of before. Increasingly, the questions are not financial. They are personal.
Investment Advisor, September 2006 - Helping Employees Understand the Pros, Cons of Hardship Withdrawals
Some companies offer hardship withdrawals in lieu of loans against the retirement plan. Typically, the withdrawal is processed after the employee requests it with no questions asked. So, how can education be used as a gatekeeper and to help employees become aware of the pitfalls and their alternatives?
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, December 2005 - Tips to Increase Participation Among Lower-Compensated Employees
If your company failed retirement plan discrimination testing, or you are concerned that you will, here are some ideas for targeting lower-compensated employees to increase participation...
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, August 2005 - Using Financial Education To Increase 401(k) Participation
Sometimes, the biggest barrier to plan participation is lack of knowledge. For employees that have little or no experience investing, a 401(k) plan can be very intimidating. One of the most effective ways of increasing plan participation is to ensure your employees receive adequate financial education about your plan.
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, June 2005 - Responding to Requests for 401(k) Loans Without Providing Advice
Many employers are faced with this dilemma as employees use their 401(k) funds to pay down debts, purchase a home, or cover medical expenses. Offering a loan provision in your retirement plan is an important feature that provides employees access to their money when they need it.
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, April 2005
Best Practices for Managing Employee Benefits
- How to Increase Pay Satisfaction With Financial Education Programs
According to CareerBuilder, 27 percent of job leavers cite compensation and career advancement reasons, making this the principal factor affecting employee turnover.
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, August 2007 - How a 529 Plan Helps Employees Save Money
Since the early 1980s, college education costs have been rising at double the rate of inflation. It is no wonder that almost 50 percent of parents with children under age 18 indicate their number one financial goal is to ensure their children go to college.
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, October 2005 - Change Management Easier with Financial Education
Although not much different from recent years, the situation was less than ideal. Employees were lured away with promises of more pay or better benefits. The recruitment machine chugged along at full capacity. There was constant training for new hires.
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, a publication of Business & Legal Reports (BLR), Inc. Website: www.blr.com, December 2004
Best Practices in Financial Education
- How to Measure ROI of Your Financial Education Programs
One of the most common questions we receive from HR managers is how to measure the return on investment (ROI), or the success, of their financial education programs.
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, November 2007 - Best Practices for Educating Younger
Employees About Retirement
Today, most companies are focusing retirement planning efforts on the Baby Boomer generation out of necessity. However, more proactive firms are beginning to take notice of Generations X and Y, understanding that getting these employees to start saving for retirement now will ward off a retirement crisis later.
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, June 2007 - Educating Your Pre-Retirees
As Baby Boomers prepare for retirement, companies are scrambling to provide resources to ensure their comfortable retirement.
Best Practices in Compensation & Benefits, February 2007 - Financial Helpline: A Growing Employee Benefit
We live in a world where employees' financial issues can have a huge impact on their company, and vice versa. Where there was once a separation between employees and employers, now the fates of their finances are inextricably linked.
InFRE, International Foundation for Retirement Education, December 2004 - Retirement Plan Advisor Roundtable on Financial Education
Financial education is rapidly becoming an emerging employee benefit--one that is either in place or being considered by the nation's most prestigious and innovative companies.
Reprinted with permission from the October 2004 issue of Employee Benefit Plan Review
Best Practices for Member Education: Credit Unions Only
- Member Workshops: The Secrets to Success
According to a recent member education study conducted by Callahan & Associates and Financial Finesse, live workshops are the cornerstone of most credit unions' member education programs.
Creditunion.com, November 2003 - Financial Education for Credit Unions: A Win-Win Strategy
There is a way that credit unions can help drive more business to their doors and help their members at the same time: by providing unbiased financial education for your members.
Creditunions.com, January 2003
Research
- 2007 Year in review
A review of 2007's most commonly asked questions and topics from callers to our Financial Helpline.
Financial Finesse, Inc., January 2008 - 2006 Year in review
A review of 2006's most commonly asked questions and topics from callers to our Financial Helpline.
Financial Finesse, Inc., January 2007 - 2005 Year in review
A review of 2005's most commonly asked questions and topics from callers to our Financial Helpline.
Financial Finesse, Inc., January 2006 - 2004 Year in Review
2004 was a watershed year for our Financial Helpline callers. Where we generally see incremental changes in call topics and questions from year to year, the changes in 2004 were more significant. Taken together, the changes all point to the same trend: Employees are beginning to take greater control over their finances. They are becoming more proactive about improving their financial situations and planning for the future.
Financial Finesse, March 2005 - Retirement Plan Success: A Tale of Three Hospitals
Financial Finesse works with children's hospitals around the country to help them maximize the value of their retirement plan, manage critical plan design changes, and address employees' financial issues. In all cases, we've customized the programs to meet the hospital's specific needs and in all cases the hospital's needs and objectives have been different. Most programs combined live workshops with personalized financial counseling and coaching. Others incorporated online education to reinforce the learning and reach employees with untraditional work hours who couldn't attend workshops.
Liz Davidson CEO and Founder of Financial Finesse, May, 2005 - Research on How Financial Education Changes Employee Behavior
The survey was sent out 45 days following the launch of a comprehensive financial education program at Arkansas Children's Hospital. There was a 60% response rate with 56 employees responding.
Financial Finesse, February 2005 - Case Study: Hospital Doubles Retirement Plan Participation
There's been a trend towards live, personalized financial education and away from online content and advice for the last couple of years, still many have questioned whether financial education really works. Now the numbers are starting to show that this approach can be remarkably successful if implemented correctly. The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh partnered with Financial Finesse and doubled their plan participation in less than a year with a comprehensive, heavily marketed personalized financial education program available to all benefits eligible employees.
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Case Study, July 2004
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