Emily Pfund, Author at Best Money Moves

Anthem, Cigna Merger, Health Care Costs, and New Financial Stress Numbers

by Emily Pfund | Nov 22, 2016 | Blog

In this week’s Best Money Moves roundup, we take a look at news stories and new research studies that may impact employee benefits and HR issues. We hope you find this news roundup helpful, and we’d love your feedback.

Is the pending merger of two major healthcare insurance providers a win for employers and consumers or a breach of federal antitrust laws? The antitrust trial for Anthem’s $45 million merger (or takeover, as some have positioned it) with Cigna began on Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with a lawyer for Anthem arguing that the merger will help insurers lower costs for consumers. The Department of Justice, on the other hand is arguing that the merger will create an insurance behemoth that would create those savings by forcing doctors and hospitals to work for less. The two-phase trial could last for several weeks.

Do your coworkers look listless at their desks? Are they spending more time on their phones than on the job? Research shows young women are more likely than other groups to feel bored at work. Here’s how employees can re-engage with their jobs.

How many Americans struggle with financial stress? Most of them, as it turns out. And recent studies show that financial stress doesn’t stay contained to your finances.

Once companies find great employees, they want to hang onto them for as long as possible. However, that can be difficult to do if those employees clash with their managers. Watch out for these six management behaviors that could send your best people running.

Employers who offer tuition reimbursement or educational assistance report higher retention, employee satisfaction and ability to attract top talent. Read how seven big-name companies have implemented this popular employee benefit for their workforces.

What does the future hold for the HR industry? We may not have a crystal ball to tell us for sure, but we can make some educated guesses. Four industry experts share the trends and changes in store for H.R.

Thinking about retirement savings can be stressful for everyone, but some may feel the stress more than others. A recent study found millennial women report greater stress and uncertainty related to saving enough for retirement.

Are Uber drivers employees or independent contractors? The ridesharing company is working to finalize a settlement with drivers suing it over allegations it didn’t offer the same benefits and protections of other employees, including minimum wage and overtime.

Government jobs once came with the promise of a great pension and health care plan in retirement. Now, cash-strapped cities and other government agencies find themselves able to pay for only a fraction of their promised retirement benefits. Most cities have set aside less than 2 percent of their future healthcare liabilities.

A growing number of companies are using HR analytics to boost their retention and recruiting efforts. This data helps them figure out why employees quit, why they stay and which benefits they use the most. How can you incorporate analytics into your HR programs?

Are you struggling to boost employee participation in your company’s retirement plans? When companies put the responsibility on employees to set up their accounts, it may never get done. That’s why some suggest making retirement enrollment automatic and mandatory. The Department of Labor (DOL) offers a free online brochure on automatic enrollment 401k plans for small businesses that might interest you.

Did you find this Best Money Moves roundup useful? Please let us know. Email us at info@bestmoneymoves.com.

It’s hard to stay on top of everything in the news. That’s why each week our Best Money Moves newsroom will bring you the most important news in financial wellness, employee benefits and financial stress. We hope you like the information and, if you do, please spread the word. For midweek developments, follow us on Twitter and on Facebook.

Donald Trump, the Affordable Care Act and Your Employee Benefits

by Emily Pfund | Nov 16, 2016 | Blog

In this week’s Best Money Moves roundup, we take a look at news stories and new research studies that may impact employee benefits and HR issues. We hope you find this helpful, and we’d love your feedback.

Were your employees struggling in the wake of last week’s election results? Many employers across the country reported employees were distracted in the wake of the news no matter who they voted for. Trump supporters, like President-elect Trump himself acknowledged, were surprised that he won. Hillary Clinton supporters were extremely disappointed she lost.

Now that some of the shock from last week’s presidential election results has passed, we’re looking toward the future. President-elect Trump has proposed policies that could have massive impacts on the employee benefits industry, from repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act and making changes to Medicare and Medicaid to changing federal tax laws. Here’s what five leaders in the employee benefits industry think of Trump’s policies and how they will change the industry for benefits providers.

More employers are offering to help their employees pay off student debt. Is this set to be the hottest employee benefit of 2017?

Got bit by a duck? A sick pet llama? These are some of the craziest reasons your employees have called in sick.

Is your company struggling to hold on to top talent? Adding these four employee benefits to your company’s benefits packages may help lower your turnover rates.

Financial wellness programs are only beneficial to companies if employees are motivated to use them. Here are some ideas for overcoming the common hurdles to creating an effective, transformational financial wellness program.

Frequent relocations and deployments can create financial hardships for military members and their families. The Federal Trade Commission is stepping up to help them manage their money and make important financial decisions.

The U.S. is the only developed nation that doesn’t guarantee a temporary paid leave for new parents. However, in states with paid parental leave laws, businesses report no negative impacts of profitability or productivity, and found such policies improved employee morale.

There’s more to employee benefits than just providing medical insurance. A recent study found that employees enrolled in more than three nonmedical benefits are more likely to feel financially secure.

Financial stress isn’t just an American problem. A recent survey in the U.K. found that 31 percent of people say financial issues are their top cause of stress and 63 percent lose sleep over their finances.

Small business owners often have difficulty finding employee benefits vendors who want to work with them. New companies are stepping up to bridge that gap and help small business owners streamline their benefits, HR and payroll services.

Did you find this Best Money Moves roundup useful? Please let us know. Email us at info@bestmoneymoves.com.

Wells Fargo, Unauthorized Accounts and Your Financial Life

by Emily Pfund | Nov 9, 2016 | Blog

In September, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined Wells Fargo $100 million for creating millions of unauthorized accounts in customers’ names. These deposit and credit card accounts were created without their customers’ permission.

In addition to being a huge breach of customers’ trust – we expect banks like Wells Fargo to guard and protect our personal and financial information, not abuse it – these unauthorized accounts may have damaged these consumers’ credit scores and had other sorts of impacts on their finances. Here are three ways victims may have been hurt:

Credit Scores May Be Lower. Wells Fargo credit cards opened in victims’ names may have lowered credit scores by shortening the average account age on their reports, which is one of the factors credit agencies use to calculate scores.
Tougher to secure other loans. It may have also made it more difficult for consumers to secure other loans, as having too many open lines of credit is seen as a red flag by some lenders.
Unauthorized fees were paid. The unauthorized credit cards Wells Fargo employees opened also included annual fees and other charges, which the customers didn’t realize or paid unknowingly, since the fees were charged to the credit card or were paid from deposit accounts. Apparently some Wells Fargo employees even temporarily moved customers’ money from legitimate accounts into new, unauthorized accounts, which may have resulted in overdraft fees or other charges, according to the CFPB.

So what can you do to protect yourself against unauthorized bank accounts?

If you’re a Wells Fargo customer, go to your local Wells Fargo branch and ask to see a list of all the accounts opened in your name. If you find an account you didn’t open, check to see if you were hit with any fees or charges because of that account. If you were, you’re entitled to part of the $2.5 million in restitution Wells Fargo has been ordered to pay affected customers.

Next, check your credit report regularly. By law, everyone is allowed one free copy of their credit reports from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) each year. Go to annualcreditreport.com to get your reports and then review them, checking for any bank accounts, credit cards or loans that you don’t remember applying for.

If you find suspicious accounts, file a dispute with the credit reporting agency. Each credit reporting agency has a process for disputing items on your report. After you file the dispute, they and the bank or company involved with the questioned account will investigate the issue. You can also have a note added to your credit report that will explain the situation to future creditors who pull your file.

Finally, decide whether you should close the account. Regular checking or savings accounts won’t impact your credit score, so those can be closed without any repercussions. However, an unauthorized credit card in your name could be affecting your debt-to-credit ratio (potentially even improving it) and closing it might negatively affect your score. Be aware of this possibility before closing the account, especially if you’re counting on your credit score for a mortgage or loan application in the near future.

Even if you aren’t a Wells Fargo customer potentially impacted by these unauthorized accounts, it’s always a good idea to do several annual checks of your credit report to look for suspicious accounts or debts, which can be a sign your identity has been stolen. Your bank might also offer alerts for your accounts, which send you a text or email when your account dips below a certain amount. This sort of tool can help you catch acts of fraud and stay on track with your spending budget.

Even if you don’t suspect you’ve become a victim, regularly review your financial accounts for accuracy. The sooner the fraud is detected, the sooner you can stop the crooks from doing any more harm and begin fixing the damage they may have already caused.

How Many Americans Struggle with Financial Stress? The Answer May Surprise You

by Emily Pfund | Oct 28, 2016 | Blog

How many Americans struggle with financial stress? The answer may surprise you. Even though the Great Recession is mostly behind us, the majority of Americans are still stressing out about their finances.

In a recent study by Northwestern Mutual, 85 percent of people surveyed said they feel financial anxiety and 28 percent said they worry about their finances every day. On top of that, 36 percent said their stress about financial issues has increased, rather than decreased, over the last three years.

That’s a lot of financial angst. It takes a toll, and not just in one area of your life. Northwestern Mutual asked these financially stressed adults how their financial stress impacts the rest of their lives and here’s what they said:

70 percent said it’s negatively impacting their happiness
70 percent said it’s negatively impacting their moods
69 percent said it’s negatively impacting their ability to pursue their dreams or interests
67 percent said it’s negatively impacting their health
61 percent said it’s negatively impacting their home life
51 percent said it’s negatively impacting their social life
41 percent said it’s negatively impacting their career

Basically, the study found that stress and anxiety about your finances bleed into almost every other facet of your life. It’s difficult to focus on your job or enjoy downtime with friends and family if your focus is always on your money and how you’ll make ends meet this month. And, money continues to be the top-cited factor in divorce.

An employee’s financial stress impacts the people around them at work too. For example, A report from Health Affairs found that employees reporting high levels of stress cost their employers an average of $413 more per year than their more relaxed coworkers, according to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Add that to the business costs of a stressed employee’s reduced productivity, and employers have a big interest in seeing that their employees are financially stable.

The CFPB’s report also cites a study that found employees who underwent nine hours of classroom financial wellness training and had up to five one-on-one counseling sessions with a financial planner measurably improved their financial health. Employee’s requests for loans from their 401(k) accounts – often a last-ditch attempt to make ends meet – stopped entirely and their installment debts decreased by 14 percent. They were also less likely to be paying their bills late.

We know that financial stress isn’t limited to your finances. That’s why the Best Money Moves team is so dedicated to helping people dial down the root causes of financial stress. We ask employees to tell us what’s stressing them out, and we provide the information and tools they need to target that stress point and relieve it, whether they need to get out of debt, build a savings safety net or work toward their financial goals. If they ever need guidance along the way, our accredited Money Coaches are just a phone call away, 24 hours a day.

Want to try it for yourself? Email us at info@bestmoneymoves.com to get a free trial!

How Employee Benefits Changed Over 20 Years

by Emily Pfund | Sep 30, 2016 | Blog

A lot of things have changed since 1996. Cell phones are smaller and smarter, the Internet is a whole lot faster and superfoods like kale are now in everything from cookies to chocolate.

Welcome to the new age. It turns out that in the same 20 years employers have also made some big changes in the benefits they offer their employees. In its 2016 Employee Benefits research report, the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) looked back at some of the changes in the industry since the organization started issuing these reports in 1996.

While it doesn’t mention a change in the number of office ping pong tables or La Croix-filled refrigerators, it does illustrate some big shifts in the benefits employers choose to focus on.

What’s in:

Telecommuting. In 1996, only 20 percent of companies offered employees the opportunity to work remotely. Thanks to the internet, that number has tripled to 60 percent, giving employees more flexibility.

Professional development opportunities and memberships. Three quarters of companies offered to cover additional training and education for their employees in 1996. Now 86 percent of employers offer this benefit, encouraging more workers to continue learning and adding to their skill sets. In addition, 88 percent of today’s employers cover the cost of membership to professional organizations and trade groups for their employees, up from 65 percent in 1996.

Health Wellness benefits. Over half (54 percent) of employers offered some form of health wellness program in 1996. Now, 72 percent of employers offer such programs. Popular plans include giving discounts on insurance premiums or adding cash to health savings accounts (HSA) plans if certain health goals are met, such as reducing cholesterol and giving up smoking. In addition, nearly a third (31 percent) offer weight loss programs, up slightly from 29 percent in 1996.

What’s out:

Employee stock purchase plans. Very few companies – just 9 percent – offer employees stock purchase plans in 2016, but more than a quarter (28 percent) did in 1996.

Credit union membership. Employers in 1996 loved credit unions (they often offer lower interest rates and fees than other banks) and 70 percent offered credit union membership as an employee benefit. Today, only 23 percent offer these memberships.

Health care premium flexible spending accounts. The health insurance industry has changed drastically since 1996, especially with the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and fewer employers are offering flex spending accounts to help employees cover their healthcare expenses. Only 39 percent of employers offer the benefit now, compared to 54 percent in 1996.

What’s next:

Most companies offer a handful of financial wellness programs, notably a 401(k) account. And, many employers will contribute to the employee’s account, usually in the form of a match or profit-sharing. But employers know that matching contributions doesn’t mean that employees will take advantage of what is essentially free money.

That’s why more than 90 percent of employers are looking to add to their financial wellness programs. Because while the programs are being offered, employees don’t have the cash leftover at the end of the month to participate.

At Best Money Moves, we believe employees are under tremendous financial pressures. So, we focus on helping employees take a deeper look at what’s causing their financial stress. And, then we dial it down by pushing relevant information, tools and calculators that can help solve the problems.

Here’s the good news for employers: If your workforce has less financial stress, they’ll be more productive and engaged, retention will rise and absenteeism will go down.

We can help. Email us at info@bestmoneymoves.com for a free trial and to learn how we can help your employees be happier, healthier and more productive.