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All
good – but not good enough.
These days true “financial wellness” gets into broader issues
like planning help, student debt, tuition reimbursement, and
dozens of other potential stress points.
As head of financial wellness at Morgan Stanley, Krystal Barker
Buissereth is steering companies toward a more holistic
understanding of where workers might be hurting – and how a few
financial lifelines can help people in trouble while also
boosting an employer's talent attraction and retention efforts.
She spoke with Reuters about the ways benefits can change
employees’ lives.
Q: How do you define financial wellness, exactly?
A: Helping individuals put pen to paper on what matters to them.
What is getting in the way of achieving their financial goals,
and how do you figure out a plan to tackle that?
Most people don’t even have a financial plan, so it’s like
playing a game of darts without a dartboard.
In this age of COVID and the Great Resignation, people need help
beyond just retirement. It could be helping them with short-term
needs like budgeting. It could be helping them set up emergency
savings in case they have a healthcare crisis. It could be help
with paying down student debt. Financial wellness is
all-encompassing.
Q: One of the biggest trends right now seems to be help with
employee student loans. Why?
A: The fastest-growing portion of household debt is student
debt. Why that is so concerning is that it gets in the way of
planning for other financial milestones.
If I’m stressed out about student debt, that may delay my
retirement saving. So companies are looking to alleviate some of
that stress, either with one-on-one coaching, or direct
contributions, or both.
Q: Can this also be seen as a diversity issue?
A: Diversity and inclusion is part of this, because if you look
at people with the most outstanding debt, it is often women and
underrepresented minorities.
If you are a company looking to attract a diverse workforce, you
want to make sure your benefits are helping the most vulnerable.
Q: Some companies like Target are grabbing headlines for tuition
benefits?
A: Almost 50% of companies have some sort of tuition
reimbursement or professional development program, but what we
are seeing more of now is full tuition coverage.
Competition for talent is very high, and if my company is
looking to stand out in a competitive workplace, benefits can be
that differentiating factor. It’s one of the best tools in your
arsenal.
Q: I imagine you have seen a lot of data, so how are people
doing right now financially?
A: People have absolutely been rattled. What COVID highlighted
is that certain populations have been disproportionately
affected more than others.
But no matter where you are on the continuum, this period has
been a wake-up call. One stat found that 65% of households have
lost some income. When you ask people what is causing them
stress, the number-one answer is financial concerns – more than
health, or work, or family.
Q: There is upward pressure on wages, so will that help with the
financial wellness picture?
A: An extra boost in salary can go a long way, especially for
those just starting out, but it’s just one piece of the equation
in the broader overall picture.
Q: There are a lot of changes happening in this arena, so what’s
next?
A: There is no one-size-fits-all program, so we do anticipate
more ‘cafeteria’-style plans, with a menu of different benefits
that employees could pick and choose from. That’s the gold
standard, but many companies haven’t even started with the first
items on the menu. They have a retirement benefit, and that’s
about it.
Employees are suffering, they need help, and what we envision is
that companies are going to start filling in more financial
gaps.
Q: What financial lessons are we going to take away from the
last couple of years?
A: Just like 2008-2009, this has been an eye-opener for many of
us. We might not have the financial buffer that we thought we
did.
For employers, they have learned that attracting and retaining
talent is not just about salary. Their benefits packages need to
be tied to their goals and their (human resources) objectives,
so that employees can bring their best selves to work.
(Editing by Lauren Young and David Gregorio)
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