Saving more money is the one piece of advice personal financial experts are putting a lot of stock into, especially these days as the economy remains shaky.
Likely there are many employees dutifully putting in their hours who are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living continually rises. For this reason, it can certainly do a lot for employee morale to have some assistance in their financial efforts – namely a little help in the savings department.
There are several simple ways to get started helping workers get on a better financial track. Here are a few ways your company can jump-start the process:
1. Make Free Help Available
There are many ways employers can help ease the financial burdens of their employees but one simple method is to provide more financial education for workers at no charge. Schools do not teach much in the way of personal finance so many people start their adult lives on the wrong financial foot simply because they lack information.
Consider setting up a seminar or other program that can help workers learn more about better money management and more progressive savings methods. This can go a long way to helping your hard-working employees eliminate debts and become more financially stable.
Schedule a personal financial expert to come into the office in person and discuss basic personal finance with an emphasis on savings.
2. Set Up Automated Banking Services
It is believed that if more people set up automated deposits into their savings accounts direct from their payroll checks, they would be more successful at meeting their savings goals.
Under the advice of ‘pay yourself first’, you can be instrumental in making it easier for employees to put more in the bank first rather than waiting for ‘extra’ cash to come into their lives.
Provide the appropriate forms and information banks need to get the automated deposits started. Provide literature on the different investment vehicles including savings accounts and the importance of a getting good CD rates and the like to help employees understand their options when it comes to saving for retirement.
3. Retirement Education
Many employees, especially the younger generation, are not focused on the needs of a retirement savings plan mostly because they are not educated about the importance of saving for the future.
Employers can be instrumental in setting up programs that offer basic advice and education concerning retirement accounts and savings goals for the future.
By saving at a younger age, employees can stash away cash much easier than older individuals who are closer to retirement age. At –work programs that highlight retirement savings strategies can prompt more people to refocus on savings and money goals for the future.
4. Facilitate Retirement Savings
It is not enough to provide just the education concerning employee retirement savings. Employers should also be able to offer contribution plans that encourage workers to take an active interest in investing for the future. If you do not offer retirement savings plans, consider looking into establishing this incentive for your workers.
If you do currently offer this incentive, be sure to provide motivational information to employees about how their contributions now will affect their future. Visuals like monthly statements which include how the savings will translate in the future can be highly motivating.
You should also offer a diversified package of retirement investment options in addition to the standard 401(k) account for your employees to select from within a plan.
Employers still hold the key to the retirement system of the nation and still make a significant impact in their employee’s financial future regardless of the current economic situation.
For this reason, the workplace is the ideal venue to promote better savings efforts and offer more financial learning tools employees can utilize to prepare for the short-term and long-term financial goals they hope to meet.
Rob Toledo is outreach coordinator for digital marketing and communications agency, Distilled Creative.
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