Voya adds emergency savings benefit to employer options

Voya Financial has teamed up with retirement services provider Millennium Trust to offer its employer clients an emergency savings fund solution for employees.

Employees are woefully underprepared for a large financial emergency. Indeed, only 40% of Amercians are prepared for an unexpected expense of $1,000, according to data from online personal finance resource Bankrate. Employees have increasingly turned to employers for help navigating the stressors of their daily lives, yet only 17% of employers provided loans for emergency or disaster assistance, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

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When employers are hit with an unforeseen financial crisis, they can make the mistake of reaching into their retirement savings, impacting their long-term financial health. At least two million people have dipped into their retirement accounts during COVID-19 to help with expenses, according to theNew York Times. Emergency savings benefits can help employees avoid this damaging solution.

“We've been focused on emergency savings for a couple of years now. We were really looking at plan leakage, typically loan activity and hardship withdrawals from retirement plans,” says Jeff Cimini, senior vice president of retirement product at Voya Financial. “We were trying to think through ways we can help participants limit the amount of times that they use their retirement plan for unforeseen needs.”

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Voya’s partnership with Millennium Trust provides a flexible program for employers to add to their benefit offering. The new emergency savings solution includes optional automatic saving through payroll deductions, along with a plan sponsor’s ability to make contributions to employee emergency savings funds through an employer match or ad hoc contributions.

Employers can gauge enrollment and engagement through an administrative portal that manages the program and provides support from Millennium Trust. Employees will easily be able to access funds through their phone or personal computer when emergency expenses arise.

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“Our research at Voya shows that retirement plan participants with inadequate emergency funds are 13 times more likely to take a hardship withdrawal from their retirement account, compared to those that indicated they have an emergency fund,” Cimini says. “For employers, seeking opportunities to help individuals get back on track is becoming increasingly important. Emergency savings, student loan debt repayment assistance, health savings and even caregiver support services are all examples that can help to ultimately provide individuals with greater retirement outcomes and improved financial wellness.”