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In Practice November 25, 2008
Financial Literacy Help Might Be Key
Some 43% of U.S. respondents to an employer survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEABS) said they offer financial education/literacy programs for their workers.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
IFEBS pointed out that education is essential to helping participants more effectively deal with the nation’s ongoing economic problems.
“The current financial crisis has affected the way Americans are spending their money and how they are saving for the future,” said Julie Stich, IFEBS Senior Information/Research Specialist, in a news release.”If the situation persists through 2009, we may see the percentage of employers offering financial education programs increase as they try to help their employees deal with the crisis.”
The survey also found (unsurprisingly) that corporate employers are most likely to offer a defined contribution (DC) plan while Taft-Hartley or public plans are most likely to be traditional defined benefit programs. Also, many of the employers have introduced automatic features, the most popular of which are target retirement-date/lifecycle funds (54%) and automatic enrollment (39%).
The report is $132 (I.F. Members $99). To order the report ($132, $99 for members), visit www.ifebp.org/books.asp?6542.