Client Service March 13, 2024

Why Defining Plan Goals is Key to Success

Plan sponsors should articulate organizational objectives to derive optimal benefits from workplace financial wellness initiatives, say experts during a PLANSPONSOR livestream.

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Financial wellness isn’t a one-size-fits-all. However, among plan sponsors, familiar financial challenges impact their employees’ ability to achieve enduring objectives such as saving for retirement.

For sponsors, defining plan goals helps to frame the wellness programs and financial well-being resources they provide to participants, said a group of speakers at PLANSPONSOR’s Roadmap livestream on March 7. 

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“At Fidelity, how we define success for an individual isn’t about a dollar [amount saved or invested] per year, it’s more about that person understanding where they are, where they want to go [financially] and having the confidence to follow that journey,” said Christine Chiulli, vice president of financial wellness at Fidelity Investments.

Kerry Woods Tapia, a vice president of participant education and engagement at SageView Advisory Group, agreed with Chiulli about the definition of financial wellness and added her own thoughts.

“What we’ve tried to do is to create [financial wellness] pathways…through a multifaceted approach in order to ultimately create better [financial] habits, mindsets [and] outcomes, through one-on-one [financial] coaching,” with certified financial planners, she said.

Financial wellness-specific

A November 2023 survey from the American Psychological Association found that 63% of Americans report that money is a source of stress, identifying it as either somewhat or a significant source, noted session moderator Rebecca Moore, managing editor of custom content, of PLANSPONSOR parent ISS Media.  

This is one reason why an increasing number of plan sponsors are focusing on the financial wellness of their employees.

For sponsors, approaching financial wellness “has evolved over time to encompass so much more in the form of reducing stress and how that can lead to changes within [a sponsors] overall benefit system and more productivity at work,” Tapia added.  “[Currently], we’re thinking of it through a web of things that are tied together and not necessarily only retirement.”

“Generationally, there are so many [workforce] differences—from a geographic location there may be differences or an organizational lens, there may be differences,” said Tapia.

For sponsors, focusing on select aspects of financial wellness can simplify what is included in their corporate wellness programs.

“We really focus on how we give that holistic help to meet people where they are. And that could be addressing budgeting…and then moving further along [to items] like setting an investment strategy for a long-term goal such as [buying] a home or certainly living in retirement,” said Chiulli.

SageView focuses on “helping people through those different life phases, whether they’re new to an organization, or leaving the organization for retirement or otherwise,” Tapia said.   

for individuals near to retiring, SageView provides transition solutions, which can help participants to understand their options.

“We also have national wellness workshops for all of our [sponsor] clients. We encourage their employees to join on a monthly basis, and that creates a baseline layer of education,” Tapia added. “And then, we have our various web-based solutions where [one shows how to] log-in,” to their retirement account.  

Maximizing value

Sponsors want to know their investments in financial wellness are positively effecting employees, explained Jake Spiegel, a research associate at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and a speaker on the livestream.

“We’re seeing some appetite for measuring cost-benefit analysis for financial wellness initiatives,” he said. “One of the ways that employers can realize that this is a serious benefit is through increased productivity.”

Employers will gain a better understanding of what employees need by using surveys of workers and employee focus groups. Sponsors will study usage of employee benefits to analyze the effects of financial wellness programs on employees, said Spiegel.  

“If a company is rolling out a high-deductible plan with a [health savings account], they would define higher HSA enrollments and contributions as a measure of success; and they’re also looking at things like improved employee retention,” explained Spiegel.

The full livestream is available on demand. 

Deals & People March 12, 2024

Nepsis Expands Retirement Plan Division With Retirement Plan Specialist Add

Trenton Hazen will bring retirement plan expertise to the advisory.

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Nepsis Inc., a financial advisory and investment management company, is enhancing its retirement plans solutions division and overall family office framework with the addition of Trenton Hazen, an expert in retirement planning, the firm announced Tuesday.

Hazen is being brought on with the goal of contributing to the growth of the company’s retirement plan solutions division focused on serving businesses. His role involves collaborating with business owners to provide customized retirement plans and solutions that align with their companies’ specific needs, the firm noted in the announcement.

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Trenton Hazen

“Trent will be responsible for managing the existing book of business here and bringing his existing clients to Nepsis,” says Mark Pearson, founder and CEO of Nepsis. “A target of the new Nepsis corporate retirement division will be to capitalize on an untapped revenue stream. By providing corporate retirement planning solutions to our business owner clients, we aim to encourage employees of these clients to take advantage of Nepsis’ wealth management offering. These retirement planning solutions will be available to our business management offering clients but also as a standalone service.”

Hazen has nearly a decade of experience in the financial services industry and has specialized in retirement plans for the past five years. He was most recently a fiduciary at Northwestern Mutual, where he created plan packages for clients with an emphasis on qualified plans, 401(k), profit-sharing, 403(b) accounts and employer-sponsored plans.

According to Nepsis, the addition of Hazen comes amidst a series of significant staff additions and promotions at the firm. Last month, Nepsis welcomed Ed Stober as a senior wealth adviser. The company stated that the decision to enhance its talent pool and senior leadership is a strategic move, aligning with a larger initiative that coincides with the acquisition of the comprehensive accounting firm Sevenich, Butler, Gerlach & Brazil Ltd. in late 2023.

“We are growing fast, and certainly have more hires lined up as we continue to build out our family office framework,” says Pearson. “We have recently hired some associate advisors and plan on hiring more in the coming months. We also intend on hiring more CPAs to assist in tax-advantaged retirement planning, as well as building out our estate planning offering with the addition of attorneys, so that we will have an internal estate planning offering. We also partner with an agency that can provide insurance solutions to our clients, complementing the comprehensive suite of offerings we provide.”

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