Benefits

Americans plan to spend 40% of their retirement savings on health care costs, and HSAs are viewed as a key health care benefit, a survey finds.

They have several options that could help, depending on their budgets and goals.

As heart monitors, smartwatches and other electronic systems become more popular, employers may wonder whether they should offer these products to employees.

Health care decisions are financial decisions, and the right tools, communications and advice can help employees make the right choices.

Experts dissected what financial benefits and opportunities sponsors should offer participants, and any savings or spending hierarchies their participants should prioritize.

How plan sponsors can get participants back into a saving mode after a rough year.

The best programs include financial coaching, including one-on-one sessions, and are appealing to employees, experts say.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in February 2020, 52% of employees felt stressed, according to a PLANSPONSOR webinar.

There are new ways to think about benefits offerings and cost negotiations following the experience of the pandemic.

Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are also now influencing companies’ well-being programs, a Fidelity survey finds.

Not only do they build employees’ wealth at a faster rate than retirement plans, but they contribute to business performance and resilience.

The experience during the pandemic of those with and without retirement savings has highlighted the issue of income inequality, says Ed Farrington, with Natixis Investment Managers.

While it’s a crucial step, experts say promoting an inclusive workplace entails more than offering benefits to different employee demographics. 

U-Haul shared how it uses data and employee feedback to continually improve its health and well-being program and move up the Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America list.

Instead of giving employees a list of benefit products, plan sponsors should consider presenting them as resources for different life stages, which can lead to better participation.

There are different needs competing for employees’ savings, but employers that want to promote savings in HSAs have several ways to do so.

They need to determine how emergency savings accounts will be invested and whether to match employees’ savings, as well as whether recordkeepers’ out-of-plan or in-plan options are best.

How decoupling HSAs from high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) could bring advantages to both the employee and employer.