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5 Surprising Symptoms of Financial Stress (And 5 Helpful Solutions) Read it here.

How Bad Is the Student Loan Crisis?

How Bad Is the Student Loan Crisis?

by | Mar 5, 2019 | Blog

How bad is the student loan crisis? Student loan assistance is becoming a popular employee benefit for employers who want to help workers reduce financial stress from student loan debt. 

Over 70 percent of Millennials say they’ve delayed decisions like buying a home or having children because of their student loan debt, according to a recent survey by Bankrate.

“There’s a huge toll being taken on individuals and the U.S. economy from the growing burden of student loan debt,” said Bankrate’s Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick. “For the huge slice of the American population with debt, it is necessary to juggle competing goals including saving for emergencies and retirement as well as major life decisions.”

Student Loan Debt Regret

Nearly 80 percent of Millennials would have approached their college finances differently in hindsight. More than half of Millennials would have applied for more scholarships than they did. Others would have attended a cheaper university, opted for community college or trade school, or majored in a different field.

“Many families are now striking out to investigate college campuses as they begin studies this fall,” said Hamrick. “For those prospective students and their families, many of who will help them to pay for their secondary education, we’d urge them to investigate all possible options for financial aid including scholarships to limit their borrowing.” He goes on to suggest: “Their options also include attending a lower-cost school such as those in-state as well as more economical trade schools and community colleges.”

Families can help children approaching college make better decisions about student loans now, but what about the Americans splitting the $1.5 trillion in student loan debt the U.S. has already generated who aren’t meeting milestones or saving for retirement?

Employee Student Loan Assistance 

Employers are coming up with solutions to help employees pay down student loan debt and get back on track with saving for retirement. Some companies are allowing workers to transfer up to five days of paid time off for payments against student loan debt. Other programs offer student loan refinancing or allow employers to match employee 401(k) contributions with student loan repayments.  

Lawmakers are working to expand existing legislation that allows companies to offer up to $5,250 in tax-free tuition reimbursements to include $5,250 in tax-free student debt relief for workers in an attempt to further motivate employers to offer student loan assistance benefits.

Student loan debt assistance is still a new benefits offering, but it’s developing rapidly to meet the need to address the $1.5 trillion issue that’s stressing Americans out and keeping them from financial security.

More on Employee Student Loan Debt:

Employee Student Loan Debt: 10 Things You Need To Know, Part One

Employee Student Loan Debt: 10 Things You Need To Know, Part Two

Student Debt Financial Stress Haunts Millennials and Older Workers, Too

What Tops Financial Stress for Employees?

The Student Debt Crisis is Growing and Affecting Your Workforce. What Can You Do?

What Benefits Do Employees Want in the New Year?

What Benefits Do Employees Want in the New Year?

by | Dec 20, 2018 | Blog

What benefits do employees want in the new year? Employees want benefits that support employees’ diverse needs like transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits, fertility assistance and pet perks.

Over 30 percent of employers increased their benefits in 2018, according to research by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a trend likely to carry over into 2019 as employers continue to wrestle with low unemployment.

Healthcare benefits have been a hot topic this year, but healthcare regulation is in flux and as costs soar across the board, cost-management has become a priority. According to the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), employers are looking to solutions like telemedicine, nurse advice lines and healthcare claims utilization analysis to help rein in expenses. Wellness programs that help employees improve physical, emotional and financial health have also skyrocketed in popularity as another way to manage burgeoning healthcare costs.

New healthcare benefits are going to be equally important in 2019. Employees have a wide range of needs and company culture/inclusivity are factors that future candidates are likely to take into consideration when evaluating job offers.

Employers have started to meet the demand for diversified healthcare benefits. The IFEBP found nearly 30 percent of employers now offer transgender-inclusive benefits, like coverage of sex-reassignment surgery or subsidies for cosmetic procedures, such as electrolysis, mastectomy and Adam’s apple reduction surgery. Employers are also adding more fertility benefits. Close to 20 percent of companies offer financial assistance for adoptions, egg harvesting/freezing, fertility treatments and counseling.

Another big benefits trend in 2018 that’s likely to carry over into 2019 is the rise of pet perks. SHRM found nearly 10 percent of organizations now allow pets at work or offer pet health insurance. Some companies have gone as far as offering paid time off or the flexibility to work from home for employees who adopt a pet, referred to affectionately as ‘paw-ternity leave.’

While healthcare cost-management and benefits inclusivity are industry trends likely to see more growth in 2019, that doesn’t mean they automatically make the most sense for every employer. Employee benefits engagement is difficult and under-utilization is often an issue employers need to strategically tackle. Including employees in the benefits selection process, whether it be through polls or surveys or direct employee involvement in meetings, will help employers offer benefits that make the most meaningful impact in the lives of their employees.

Employee Benefits Success is All About Communication

Employee Benefits Success is All About Communication

by | Oct 16, 2018 | Blog

Employee benefits success is all about communication. A third of compensation costs go towards employee benefits and some employees would forgo a raise for better work-life balance or better healthcare benefits, but almost half of employees don’t even understand the benefits their employer already offers.

Benefits account for more than 30 percent of total employee compensation, but that doesn’t mean employees use them. Nearly half don’t understand all the benefits their organization offers, according to a report from Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

Even though they don’t have a good grasp on their current benefits, more than 40 percent of employees would forgo a raise in favor of work-life balance benefits and almost 20 percent would accept lower pay for better healthcare coverage.

More than 80 percent of employees have paid vacation time and over 70 percent have paid sick leave. Less than half of organizations offer paid maternity leave and only a quarter offer paid paternity leave. Recently large organizations have overhauled their benefits for parents, like Pinterest, whose benefits now include four months off for mothers or fathers, one-on-one classes with a parenting coach and online classes if children have learning or developmental disabilities. In the next few years, organizations offering maternity leave are likely to increase and there’s a chance companies that offer paternity leave might see a significant spike too.

Benefits that were nonexistent in 2013 (at least in terms of EBRI’s report) like health savings accounts and accident insurance are now offered by more than 15 percent of organizations. Student loan assistance is a trend EBRI started measuring this year and almost 15 percent of employees said their employer provides student loan debt relief/repayment assistance. The IRS recently ruled that a company could contribute to an employee’s 401(k) based on student loan payments, so employees can pay down their student loan debt and save for retirement at the same time with employer contributions. Employers are also helping employees continue their education as more companies partner with institutions to offer employees free college tuition.

Most employees predict weakening benefits offerings in the next three years, but everything I’ve seen in benefits trends this year points to stronger benefits offerings on the horizon. However, recently companies like Walgreens have started to slash benefits in order to raise overall wages. It’s a concerning trend to keep an eye on in the years to come.

10 Quick Highlights from SHRM’s 2018 Benefits Report

10 Quick Highlights from SHRM’s 2018 Benefits Report

by | Aug 21, 2018 | Blog

SHRM’s 2018 employee benefits report is out and we’ve got the top 10 highlights on topics like healthcare, retirement, paid leave, and wellness programs.

Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)’s 2018 Employee Benefits report is here just in time for National Wellness Month!

Here are our quick 10 takeaways:

  1. Healthcare is Essential. An impressive 95 percent of companies with less than 50 full-time employees provide some form of healthcare coverage even though they aren’t obligated to.
  2. Keep it Casual. More than 60 percent of organizations offer casual dress benefits. The most popular benefit is one day per week when employees are welcome to  “dress down.”
  3. Referral Rewards. Employee referral bonuses increased by 10 percent (to 51%) since 2014. Low unemployment and tight competition makes it that much harder to find quality hires, so why not reward great employees for great referrals?
  4. Investment Retirement Advice. Over half of organizations offer either one-on-one or online investment retirement advice to their employees to help reduce stress concerning retirement readiness.
  5. Wellness Challenges Work. Companies hosting competitions and challenges grew 10 percent over the last year. Competitions and challenges can be effective tools to increase engagement with wellness benefits.
  6. Flexibility Bonus Benefits. Flexible work arrangements are a win-win. Employees experience a better work-life balance. Employers get a reduction of “real estate” costs and are better suited to match customer demands of a 24/7 culture.
  7. Tech Benefit Trends. More than half of organizations offer company-owned smartphones for business and personal use. Surprisingly, almost 20 percent of companies offer free computers for employees’ personal use.
  8. Smoking Costs. Nearly 20 percent of organizations charge a higher premium for healthcare coverage of employees who smoke because of the numerous health risks smoking poses.
  9. Unused Paid Leave. Employees fear falling behind, don’t believe anyone else will step in while they were away, or want to show how dedicated they are to their job. Encouraging employees to use vacation time may reduce turnover and its associated costs.
  10. Stress Management Matters. Stress can be detrimental to productivity, and there’s no shortage of things for Americans to stress about, so it makes sense that companies offering onsite stress management programs as a benefit tripled over the past 5 years. 

Effective wellness benefits lower stress, create a better work-life balance and give employees the chance to relax on their off time so they return with higher job satisfaction and improved productivity. Take advantage of National Wellness Month as an opportunity to review your current wellness plan and determine what the best benefits are for your employees.

What Are Your Employees Hiding From You?

What Are Your Employees Hiding From You?

by | Aug 15, 2018 | Blog

It’s about time you learn what your employees don’t want you to know about their financial situations. Find out what “faking normal” is and how wellness benefits can reduce financial stress.

“Faking normal” is a term that Elizabeth White uses in her powerful TED talk on the personal finance crisis in America. The term describes what most Americans’ facing serious financial instability are prone to do –  pretend everything is fine. Some of your employees are probably “faking normal” right now.

“The truth is it really doesn’t take much. The median household in the US only has enough savings to replace 1 month of income. 47 percent of us cannot pull together $400 to deal with an emergency. A major car repair and we’re standing at the abyss,” White says. This is a reality for many Americans, regardless of education or employment history.

“Shame keeps us silent and siloed,” she adds, “We live in a world where success is defined by income. When you say that you have money problems you’re announcing, pretty much, that you’re a loser.” For many of those struggling with debt, the people closest to them would never know because they take great pains to hide what’s considered to be a failing.

White believes individuals need to hold themselves accountable financial failings, but it’s important employers recognize, “systemic factors that have caused a $7.7 trillion retirement income gap,” like, “flat and falling wages, disappearing pensions, through the roof costs on housing, pension, healthcare and education,” that have built over the last three decades.

Until there’s large-scale reform to address the financial crisis, White recommends “smalling up.” She describes it as, “figuring out what you really need to feel contented and grounded.” An example she uses is a friend that drives beat-up cars but loves music so much they would scrape to save and spend $15,000 on a flute. Employers offering financial wellness benefits can help employees recover from debt and build budgets so they can spend their money on what matters most to them.

White says it’s also time for skilled workers to embrace “bridge work,” which she describes as jobs that don’t utilize the education or work experience that someone may have built up. She’s not suggesting that people be content with it, she’s suggesting that “bridge work is what we do in the meantime while we’re figuring out what is next.” Supporting employees that might need to work a side hustle to pay down debt and build savings can reduce some of the stress associated with maintaining appearances that all is well.  

It’s clear that even if employees are well educated and appear financially sound, there’s a good chance that some of them are acting as if everything is normal while dealing with high levels of financial stress. Employers who acknowledge this and offer financial wellness benefits are likely to see an ROI with higher job satisfaction and thus, better retention.