Monday, May 22, 2017

Webinar: New Ways to Teach Employees about Their 401(k) Plans

Research: Financial Worries Distract One in Three Employees at Work
According to the 2017 PwC’s Employee Financial Wellness Survey, one in three U.S. workers are distracted at work by their personal financial issues—and almost half of these people say they spend three or more hours per week thinking about these issues.1

The more you can help your employees allay financial fears such as a lack of sufficient retirement savings, the more productive they can be. And merely providing a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k) isn’t enough. 


According to PLANSPONSOR’s 2016 Participant Survey, four in 10 employees with access to a defined contribution plan want more financial education at work.2

However, our new webinar “Top Trends inRetirement Education at Credit Unions” examines how the annual all-employee 401(k) enrollment meeting isn’t cutting it anymore—even as research shows that employees need and want more information from employers about saving for retirement.

Susan Reynolds, Director at CUNA Mutual Retirement Solutions, uses case studies and proven best practices that demonstrate how to tailor retirement education for your credit union. 
She features two key points that can enhance the learning experience for staff members:

  1. You have to get the attention of a diverse employee group. Reynolds explains how to target communications to specific groups and cost-effectively expand the educational tools available to them.

  2. Group meetings and one-on-one sessions with professional retirement plan educators are still effective, but they no longer have to be face-to-face, Reynolds says. They can be augmented by on-demand, interactive learning tools, among other options. 

The case studies she features show how a few credit unions have found new ways to deliver the education employees seek.

  • One credit union used technology to leverage the expertise of plan provider educators. Employees were able to learn in groups, or one-on-one, according to their needs and preferences.

  • At one credit union, a particularly effective method is live a remote session showing how to use the plan provider's online retirement planning tools and answering employee questions. Employees also have the opportunity to ask questions of a specialist privately, which can be critical to employee involvement, Reynolds says.

  • And, another credit union was able to solve a timing problem, getting new employees the information they need before they enroll in their 401(k)—which wasn't happening with the credit union's existing qurterly meeting schedule. 

The online session shows you that, by adapting to individual learning styles, you can help employees learn faster how to use their retirement planning resources, with minimal interruption of their work schedule. 

And, the more they master how to save for retirement, the better it is for them and for your credit union

To learn more, follow this link to the recorded webinars in the Retirement Resource Center.




1.              “2017 Employee Financial Wellness Survey,” ©2017, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP.
2.              “PLANSPONSOR 2016 Participant Survey,” ©2017, Strategic Insight, Incl.

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