Cracking the Benefits Code: Lessons from the EBRI Symposium
Show notes
Welcome to season five of Financial Wellness at Work! In this episode, we welcome our very own Think Tank director, Greg Ward, and financial coach, Scott Stark, to discuss their takeaways from the EBRI (Employee Benefit Research Institute) Symposium as we head into a new year. Tuning in, you’ll hear all about why this event is so beneficial, what was discussed at the HSA roundtable, how the day started by touching on the affordability issue, and so much more. We delve into what stood out to Scott and Greg from the discussions before touching on the power of efficient education and leveraging technology appropriately. We even talk about what a private letter ruling is! Finally, Greg and Scott talk about how offering employees a choice on how their money is spent improves their benefit satisfaction massively. To hear all this and more, be sure to press play now, and stay tuned for more episodes where we will unpack more about the benefits code!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Why the EBRI Symposium is such an amazing and beneficial event.
- One of the main challenges the industry faces: affordability and retirement saving.
- What stood out from the event and the importance of auditing as a benefit manager.
- The importance of education to improve the financial health of the American worker.
- How technology can help us integrate benefits and provide a personalized experience.
- The power of offering employees a choice on how money is spent.
Quotes:
“The affordability issue is going to compete with the ability to save for retirement so if you’re not doing both when you’re younger, – it’s hard to catch up when you’re older.” — Greg Ward [0:05:03]
“There are several things that are needed to improve the financial health of the American worker [and] the first is just the education itself.” — Greg Ward [0:10:06]
“All this choice and all these other efforts that employers are making to support their employees – need some support.” — Scott Stark [0:14:15]
“One in three people [who] have an HSA know little to nothing about it.” — Scott Stark [0:14:27]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: