Helping Employees Fully Utilize Their Benefits Through MSA

Human Resources and Benefits Departments are able to achieve significant results when driving employees to the My Secure Advantage (MSA) Financial Wellness program for help with benefit offerings and decision making.  MSA Money Coaches equipped with an employer’s benefit program offering are able to promote utilization of specific benefits in a wide range of conversations and interactions with employees.  The following are examples of how this dynamic has benefited employers adopting this approach with MSA:

401(k) − Improving employees’ understanding and utilization of their retirement plan

• Employer #1:  A MSA Money Coach teamed up with a 401(k) plan’s investment advisor to deliver an on-site employee seminar focused on:

– Plan overview, matching policy, and investment options

– Benefits of working with a Money Coach to help address obstacles preventing the employee from investing in his/her future

• Employer #2:  The 401(k) plan advisor provided their website to MSA so that coaches could better see and talk to the tools, calculators, and other services available to employees.
• Employer #3:  MSA conducted a Budget Workshop on how to build a budget in order to achieve financial goals and how to use a budget to better manage retirement contributions.

Pension Plan − Employee education on changes to the defined benefit pension plan and employee 401(k) program

•  Employer #1:  MSA created a co-branded presentation that reviewed the changes, and then spoke about retirement planning.  Integrated into the presentation was the 401(k) plan advisor website, the tools, and services available.  The MSA instructor also spoke to the difference between a Money Coach, a 401(k) plan representative, and a Financial Advisor, and why an employee might have conversations at different times with all three, and how they are a complement to each other’s services.

HSAs & FSAs − Boost utilization and understanding of employees’ Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts

• Employer #1:  During open enrollment, the benefits team promoted working with a MSA Money Coach if an employee had questions on how these accounts worked.
• Employer #2:  Money Coaches worked with parents of small children, routinely asking whether they were utilizing FSAs available to them.  After a coach reviewed the benefits and constraints, employees often adopted the accounts.
• Employer #3:  Coaches routinely asked employees which health care plan option they were utilizing.  If they were eligible for an HSA health plan option, the coaches educated them on the many benefits and uses of HSA accounts.

Updating Pay Periods − Educating employees on the implications of pay periods changing from weekly to bi-weekly

• Employer #1:  The MSA education team tailored an on-site presentation.  A Money Coach delivered multiple classes on the implications of the pay period change and stayed on-site for the day to answer questions.  All attendees were encouraged to meet with a Money Coach if they had questions.

In every example, the first step starts with a company’s benefits team understanding how MSA works, and developing a plan to help promote and educate employees on how MSA can help them with their decisions about finances and benefits.  When benefits teams view MSA as a partner across their benefit programs, there can be many different opportunities to work together on employee education forums and transition programs.

We believe that when an employer provides MSA to their employees, this should be the best news a Financial Advisor or a 401(k) representative ever hears.  Once an employee is working with a Money Coach, all obstacles that get in the way of that employee having money to invest for their future can be addressed.  Also, the Money Coach is building or reinforcing a mind-set of financial planning that will only make a financial advisor’s job easier.  At the end of the day, the goal is to get the employee to a place where he or she understands the options and feels comfortable with benefit participation.  MSA can accomplish that on several different fronts.

Bottom line: MSA is a great add-on program for wellness, retirement, loan, and financial planning benefits because MSA will boost utilization and enhance the employee experience.  MSA does not compete with these types of programs in an employer’s benefit offering.  MSA complements them.

For more information about how you can help your employees make better decisions when it comes to their benefits, talk with one of our MSA Customer Success Managers at 888-724-2326 today.