2018 - Page 4 of 18 - Best Money Moves

Financial Support Limits Retirement Readiness for Parents

by LizStevens | Oct 9, 2018 | Blog

Financial support for adult children limits retirement readiness for parents. The latest study from Merrill Lynch reveals that parents are sacrificing their own financial security in retirement to support children whose financial independence has been delayed.

Most parents provide financial support to adult children ages 18 to 34, according to recent research from Merrill Lynch. Incredibly, each year parents spend twice as much supporting their adult children than they do contributing to their own retirement ($500 billion spent on adult children, $250 billion in contributions to retirement accounts).

“In this new era of delayed financial independence of young people, financial planning is becoming an ongoing family project with longer and different economic interdependencies than we’ve seen before,” says Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., CEO and founder of Age Wave.

There are 173 million parents in the U.S. and 76 million have children under the age of 18. The average cost of raising a child today to age 18 is estimated to be more than $230,000. Most new parents are surprised by how much money they spend paying for childcare and other expenses like diapers and dental work. More than 60 percent of parents encounter financial difficulties associated with parenting.

Financial Support Limits Retirement Readiness for Parents

Financial support doesn’t end when a child turns 18. A third of early adults ages 18 to 34 still live with their parents. More than 70 percent of parents say they have put their children’s interests ahead of their own need to save for retirement. Over 80 percent are willing to make a major financial sacrifice for adult children.

“While it’s tempting to help your kids get a good start, early adulthood expenses can be big-ticket items, like cars, rent and grad school tuition. If you can afford to help out, that’s great, but be clear on your intent, set clear boundaries and don’t imperil your own finances,” says Stacy Allred, managing director and head of the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Center for Family Wealth. “Remember that one of the greatest gifts you can give your kids is financial independence and security.”

When it comes to educating children about personal finances parents are better at teaching them how to pay off debt than they are at teaching them to invest early and benefit from compounding interest. More than 70 percent of parents wish they had help teaching their children about investing. A whopping 90 percent of parents would like personal finances to be taught to children in school.

It’s difficult to educate children on personal finances when most parents experience significant financial stress themselves. Employer-sponsored financial wellness programs can make a real difference by helping parents better manage their own money so they can teach their children to do the same.

What Percentage of Americans Spend More Than They Earn?

by LizStevens | Oct 3, 2018 | Blog

What percentage of Americans spend more than they earn? Recent research looks at spending habits, debt, retirement security and how close or far Americans are from achieving financial wellness.

More than half of Americans spend more than they earn, according to recent joint research by the Association of Young Americans (AYA) and AARP.

Almost 50 percent have credit card debt, more than 40 percent have a mortgage or a car loan and over 30 percent have student loan debt. Close to half of them have nothing saved for retirement. The 70 percent of Americans that consider their level of debt to be problematic are right to be worried.

“As we look into the future, financial and retirement security is going to be a concern for all of us,” says AARP Senior Vice President Jean Setzfand.

The most striking finding from AARP’s report is that there isn’t as much variance on financial security by generation as is commonly thought. In particular, student loan debt has similarly affected each generation’s ability to save for retirement and life decisions, not just Millennials. Student loan debt has kept roughly 30 percent of Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers from buying a car or house. It’s kept 40 percent of Millennials and Gen Xers and 30 percent of Baby Boomers from savings for retirement. Student loan debt has kept 25 percent of Millennials and 20 percent of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers from moving from their current residence. Student loan debt is making it harder to achieve the American dream across generations.

Survey results also showed that Americans are willing to learn. Over a third sought advice from a professional financial advisor and close to 80 percent believed such advice would be very or somewhat trustworthy. This is encouraging for employers who offer or are considering offering financial wellness programs. Employees who engage with financial wellness benefits are likely to trust the program, and ideally, apply the advice from it to improve their financial situations.

“Across generations, economic concerns and financial security are a top priority for Americans,” says Ben Brown, founder of AYA. “These findings clearly indicate that all three generations care deeply about programs that ensure long-term financial success for individuals, families, and our nation as a whole.”

Financial Wellness Research Warrants Worry

by LizStevens | Sep 24, 2018 | Blog

Research from Prudential reveals just how far Americans are from reaching financial goals, like having enough savings to get through retirement years, as well as how optimistic or pessimistic they are about their financial future.

More than half of Americans believe their financial wellness is below average based on their level of income, savings, assets and debts, according to Prudential’s first-ever Financial Wellness Census. Out of 22 common financial goals, most Americans only have two under control: staying in their home when they retire and keeping up with current expenses.

“Our relationship with money can affect our physical health, stress levels and state of mind, family dynamics and even our performance at work,” says Stephen Pelletier, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Prudential’s U.S. based businesses. “Only by listening can we truly learn what people need to help them get on the path to financial wellness and stay on the right track throughout their lives.”

Almost a third of Americans think they are better or worse off financially than they actually are. Nearly 20 percent perceive themselves to be in good financial shape despite having a low level of objective financial health. Over 10 percent of those with high levels of objective financial health are still pessimistic about their finances.

Respondents ranked having enough savings to last through retirement years and the ability to pay for future healthcare needs as the most important financial goals. Surprisingly, for more than 70 percent simply keeping up with current expenses is their primary financial focus.

Even though less than half of Americans are on track to achieve their financial goals, more than 50 percent are optimistic that they will eventually achieve them. Prudential’s report offers a reason for this positivity discrepancy, finding that working with a financial advisor correlates with a more positive outlook on financial health.

It’s not enough to offer retirement benefits if employees don’t know how to manage and grow their 401(k) (or finances in general). “The journey to financial wellness is deeply personal,” says Niharika Shah, Prudential Financial’s vice president of brand marketing. Financial wellness benefits that include personalized support features help employees learn more about improving their financial health, reduce their financial stress and bring them closer to achieving their financial goals.

How High is Work-Related Stress and What’s Causing it?

by LizStevens | Sep 19, 2018 | Blog

Almost all employees are affected by work-related stress and a new study gives some insight into how high work-related stress is, what causes it, events that make it worse and what employers can do to improve productivity and retention.

Work-related stress affects 94 percent of employees and almost a third of them experience “high” or “unsustainably high” stress, according to a new study by Wrike. Nearly 50 percent of employees said workplace stress makes them “check out.” “Checking out” is estimated to cost US companies $450 to $550 billion in lost productivity annually.

Over 25 percent of employees said they will burn out in the next 12 months if they can’t reduce their stress levels. More than 50 percent have searched for a new job due to stress at work. Almost half of staff turnover is caused by employee burnout and recruiting costs US companies roughly $160 billion a year.

Employees are taking their work-stress home with them. More than 50 percent said work-related stress has had a negative effect on their home life at least once a week. For 10 percent of employees, work-related stress has affected their home life almost every day. Work-related stress caused more than 50 percent of employees to lose sleep.

What’s stressing so many employees out? Poor communication was the top stressor for employees at companies both small and large. It was followed by team members not pulling their weight on projects, though smaller organizations were equally stressed about being overloaded. Bottlenecks, waiting for others to take action, was one of the top stressors for almost 30 percent of employees at companies small and large.

Receiving assignments with unrealistic deadlines were events that had the highest impact on employee stress levels. The second greatest stress inducer was being unable to locate information employees know they’ve seen in the past. For some, too much time spent in meetings meant that they don’t have enough time to do actual work.

Wrike’s study assesses the severity of employee stress and its main drivers. Employers can start to lessen the high levels of stress employees experience by improving communication, adjusting workloads, reviewing information systems and reigning in time spent in meetings.

It could also be advantageous for employers to look into stress management program offerings as an employee benefit. Close to 20 percent of employees said they’ve sought professional help with stress management and if it’s something that’s included in their benefits package that number could be even higher. Investing in the well-being of employees can differentiate an employer and help reduce profits lost to productivity and turnover each year.

Best Money Moves to Provide Financial Wellness for SAP SuccessFactors’ New HR Community

by Ilyce Glink | Sep 13, 2018 | Blog

LAS VEGAS, NV – September 13, 2018 – Best Money Moves, an award-winning financial wellness technology platform, announced it has been selected as the financial wellness provider for SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) SuccessFactors’ new Community, designed to tackle the most critical people issues facing human resources (HR) professionals and business leaders today.

SAP SuccessFactors is starting with a handful of best-in-class organizations of all sizes, from enterprises to startups, to co-create “simple solutions to big problems” through stand-alone, purpose-built and easy-to-consume applications.

“Today, we are seeing unprecedented levels of innovation in HR technology,” SAP SuccessFactors President Greg Tomb said. “We believe this wave of innovation will result in a ‘human revolution’ that will allow businesses to focus time, talent and energy on the thing that really matters: the people that lead to business outcomes. With this community, we can help assemble the right set of solutions for our customers’ diverse needs. And, if they don’t exist yet, we can co-create them together.”

“We are thrilled to be adding our financial wellness + coaching platform to SAP SuccessFactors’ new HR Community,” said Ilyce Glink, founder and CEO of Best Money Moves and an award-winning financial journalist and book author. “SAP SuccessFactors’ provides best-in-class HR technology to thousands of companies and millions of employees globally. We look forward to helping all of them measure and dial down their financial stress.”

The new community consists of partners organized around six initial pillars: well-being, pay equity, real-time feedback, unbiased recruiting, predictive performance and internal mobility. SAP SuccessFactors offers customers a curated set of solutions to augment their existing systems and tap into the latest sources of innovation faster than ever. SAP SuccessFactors also provides an open platform and tools to help developers and entrepreneurs create the next generation of HR solutions. SAP SuccessFactors will continue to expand its network of partners and pillars in the coming quarters to cover all aspects of the employee journey.

SAP SuccessFactors is working together with Thrive Global to operationalize a culture of well-being and improve the employee experience overall. Like SuccessFactors, Thrive Global believes that to inspire peak performance in employees and companies, it is critical to focus on the human element. Together with SAP SuccessFactors and Thrive, organizations can truly offer a comprehensive well-being strategy for their employees.

In addition to Best Money Moves, a number of additional partners in the community are working to solve critical people issues:

Ensure employees are paid equitably with PayScale
Provide insightful feedback to enhance employee effectiveness with Cultivate and CultureAmp
Achieve diversity goals and eliminate recruiting bias with Blendoor and Brilliant Hire
Assess talent more accurately to hire the most qualified candidates with Plum and HiredScore
Mobilize the workforce to cover understaffing with Andjaro

“An open community focused on solving big people issues is exactly what business leaders and HR leaders need today,” said Penny Stoker, Global HR Services Leader for EY. “From curated content enabling behavior change to bias-free hiring and financial well-being management, SAP SuccessFactors has curated a set of rising stars in the HR tech industry.”

About Best Money Moves

A cloud-based, mobile-first financial wellness technology platform, Best Money Moves helps employees measure their level of financial stress and dial it down using a unique content-mapping system, powered by machine learning. Best Money Moves measures stress in 15 categories, and incorporates live money coaching as well as an extraordinary level of company-level customization, so that employers can dig into unique insights, and understand more about how their employees financial stress impacts everything from retention, turnover, and workplace accidents, to unexplained absences, healthcare costs and outcomes and other issues. Best Money Moves placed 3rd in the 2017 Next Great HR Tech Company competition, and was named a Top 20 Financial Wellness provider by MyShortlister. For information, visit BestMoneyMoves.com.

About SAP

As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 404,000 business and public sector customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com or the SAP News Center.