Employer Checklist

The recent financial crisis has taught us many things. Chief among the lessons learned is that financial illiteracy is widespread and that the consequences of making poor financial decisions are severe. This checklist is meant to help you, the Employer, quickly identify areas that your company can focus on to help your employees improve their own financial fitness. Throughout this checklist we will reference helpful information that you can follow up on.

Stage 1: Basic

1.   We automatically enroll employees in our retirement program.

                      Yes No

Participation in a retirement plan can soar to 85% and beyond when employees are automatically enrolled compared to when they opt-in. Learn More

2.   Our employees are automatically enrolled in our auto-escalation program.

                      Yes No

An automatic escalation plan increases employee contribution to the retirement plan by automatically increasing the proportion saved from annual salary increments and/or promotions. Learn More

3.   We use Lifecycle or Target Date Funds for employee retirement asset allocation.

                      Yes No

Lifecycle Dates, also knows as Target Dates, are designed to adjust the employees assets based on where they are in their lifecycle. Learn More

Stage 2: Intermediate

4.   We encourage our employees to use the Employee Customization Tool.

                      Yes No

One size does not fit all. Employees should be encouraged to customize the retirement plan to fit their goals and needs. Learn More

5.   We provide direct deposit in a federally insured financial institution.

                      Yes No

Federally insured institutions can offer advantageous means of borrowing, decreasing the pressure or need to borrow against the company pensions. Learn More

6.   We provide direct financial planning and tax preparation tips to our employees.

                      Yes No

When employers facilitate life event financial planning for employees they create a culture of caring for employees. Learn More

7.   We encourage our employees to get their credit scores.

                      Yes No

Employers want to hire, retain, and promote responsible employees. Encouraging employees to get and improve their credit scores will encourage employee responsibility. Learn More

Stage 3: Advanced

8.   We encourage employees to seek appropriate assistance of they are having trouble managing their debt.

                      Yes No

Employee performance may be undermined because debt management takes up employee time and creates stress. Evidence suggests that unmanageable debt is linked to unmanageable job performance. Learn More

9.   We encourage employees to take a health and financial fitness assessment.

                      Yes No

Health costs related to prevention are lower than health costs related to treatment. To the extent that financial and health fitness are related, employer costs can be lowered by taking a prevention orientation rather than a treatment orientation. Learn More

10. We work with carriers to customize financial planning seminars.

                      Yes No

Customized financial aids can attract and retain good employees. An increasing number of potential employees are paying attention to the employee benefits offered by firms. Learn More