Financial Wellness Benefits-Paying It Forward

What you'll take away from this session:

From financial support to new payment models to retirement and student loan repayments, what financial benefits do employees crave, utilize and respond to?

Transcription:

Lee Hafner (00:13):

Good afternoon again, everybody. Today I am joined by Mari Kemp, who is the VP of People and Talent at Rinsey, which is a software company. We're here to talk to you today about financial wellness and why employees are craving financial wellness more than ever. So thank you so much for being here today. I'm very excited about this conversation. To kick it right off, employers are calling for more help in the financial wellness areas for their people. They're hearing their employees say, call out for more benefits, more programs, and they trust their employers. So this is a huge responsibility. That being said, how is financial wellness with a lack thereof impacting employees today?

Mari Kemp (01:28):

Absolutely, and happy to be here. So I've been working with you all for a while now, but I think what I'm seeing more now than ever, especially with what's going on in the world from layoffs and things like that, there's a lot of uncertainty in the workplace just about financial stability and what I've found in various surveys that you would think it's a small percentage of individuals that are looking for this, but the numbers are more around 70% of your employee base are actually in need of financial wellness support, guidance to some degree. And I know that most of our organizations, we do offer all these different programs that you don't really know about much, but now it's more so the need to make it more of a forefront initiative. It's something that I'm definitely seeing. So when you see numbers at a staggering 70%, we do health and wellness, a lot of that, but we are still not open and talking about the financial health of our people.

Lee Hafner (02:30):

And mental health and wellness, the fact you mentioned that is important because how, if I'm struggling financially in any way or uncertain about my financial future, whether it's the present time or for a couple years or 10 years down the road, how does that impact me as an employee?

Mari Kemp (02:47):

Oh, I mean, I don't know if any of you feel the same way, but if you don't have the right amount of money in your bank or say we remember back in the days where you're just making it check to check whatever the case may be, how do you feel you can't sleep? Well, you feel agitated. You're trying to figure out, wow, we were in San Diego and I don't know if you saw the gas prices. They're like $7 a gallon. But think about that. Say if you have your last a hundred dollars to your name and you have these high prices of rent, all of these factors impact your sleep, your mental health, your relationships with others, it actually impacts your own self esteem. And so to act like we all cannot resonate either. At some point of our lives, we felt this, but then coming up, the upcoming generation that we have are dealing with this as well as those who are going to be retiring in the next five to 10 years. This is a real topic and attention is definitely needed.

Lee Hafner (03:45):

So what do employers need to take into account if they're saying, well, I've got great 401k plan and retirement benefits, and my employees just love it. Why is that not enough?

Mari Kemp (03:58):

It's not enough because there needs to be more work in the discipline of money. And I don't know. I mean, probably for me, the last 15 years, it's been like after six months I need more money. After a year, I need more money again. And so I'm sort of figuring out, even if I threw another 20K at you, you're still going to need more money. Even if you go and make another job, get another job where you're making 10 x what you're making here, it's going to be a cycle where it's consistent. What I'm finding is the fundamentals around discipline, and I have to ask the audience a question. How many of you were taught financial health and planning in your schools in high school?

(04:42)

Right? College. So for us to pretend that we're paying, we're making the paychecks, and the first thing we do is we go pay all the bills, and that's the responsible thing as well. But what we're not disciplined in is saving for ourselves. And not just saving, but being able to understand how to invest in assets that eventually take care of you at the end of the day. Otherwise, you're on this treadmill lifestyle and it's never going to stop. It's not about how much money you make, it's about the discipline it takes to actually keep a longstanding relationship with your financial wellness.

Lee Hafner (05:22):

And it needs to be a holistic approach. So how can employers also focus on, again, we talk about the 401 k, the retirement. Well, great. That could be decades down the road for an employee. So how can they take it from the very beginning of the employee life cycle and meet them where they are, and then approach also that education aspect that you mentioned as well within the company?

Mari Kemp (05:47):

Yeah, I think number one, integrating it in part of your work life. So instead of it being this taboo conversation, I mean, we're all here for a reason. If we weren't here for the money, then we'd be philanthropists and we're just doing it because we love it. But the reality is you're there for an exchange, and so why not? What I'm doing is I set up a financial wellness slack, and we talk about things, Hey, this is the budget format that I'm using. There's Claire. There's also different apps that you can use where they take a percentage or they take $50 a month out of your paycheck and they just put it in a savings account. And I remember one day I totally forgot about it, and I swear to you, I woke up two years later and it was like 30 grand in there, and I was like, oh, wow, okay. Little things like that, giving real point and pointers on what we can do to actually save money is really critical. But I do have a question. Just how much do you guys think it costs to retire today?

(06:50)

Just throw out some numbers, some ballparks. What does that look like? Huh?

Audience Member 1 (06:54):

3 million?

Mari Kemp (06:56):

Yep, that's right. 3 million. That was actually right on. 3 million is what it takes. So when we talk about a millionaire, yeah, one millionaire, that's nothing. To actually retire at the level in which you want to live your life at a comfortable place requires some millions. So in the space of that reality, in addition to the fact of we're working really hard to pay our mortgages, okay, great. Pay your mortgage, say you pay your house off and you retire and say, you can't pay your taxes, they're still taking your house. So these are all realities that we're not even dealing with, and I think that part of what an employer's job or any company, their job is to make better people. And so yes, we're doing well on the health, we're doing well on the mental, but I think we can do a lot better on the financial.

Lee Hafner (07:50):

So going back to what you were saying a second ago about where people are struggling, can you talk for a second about, because we know the multi-generational workforce is a challenge when it comes to, well, what benefits? Because everybody needs something different. So can you talk for a second about where you see the issues maybe with Gen Z, like some of the points there, and then millennial and then Gen X as well, some of the challenges particularly that they're facing that employers need to be aware of?

Mari Kemp (08:21):

Yeah, I think I would say probably the majority in this room, we come from a place where our parents, they had their jobs for 30 years and they retired and they had the pension and whatever savings they had, and life was grand. I have my neighbors right now, they retired from the post office. They worked there for 45 years and they're set. Well, I think the next generation after that never really saw that. We saw our parents getting laid off. We saw the two thousand.com burst, the 2008 real estate burst, the 2012 bus. We saw the stock market crashes. Then there's also all these environmental things like nine 11. So we've seen a lot of unstable instability just in terms of our environment. And so when we think about our workforce, I mean, we look at how many layoffs have happened alone in 2023. I knew that by April, 2023 more layoffs had happened than the entire year in 2022.

(09:22)

So the instability is absolutely there. So when you think about that, it creates that insecurity. And I think that for those upcoming in the workforce discipline is even more critical than ever because they don't have the opportunity to have a job for 45 years or 30 years. And I have a 27 year old daughter and a 22 year old daughter, and she's a senior product manager at FanDuel doing extremely well. And she's like, oh my god, mom, I don't know. I'm not saving what's going on. And so she is saving, but she could be doing more. And so the first things I ask her for, I want to see her DoorDash app, her Uber Eats app and Fashion Nova, because I can guarantee you that's where her check is going. So I think with the newer generation in the workforce, the problem that we have today with our people versus what maybe my generation or older had, we didn't have social media where you just hit a button and the money's gone.

(10:25)

It's so well integrated in you, and this is why they say the new currency is attention, because if I can get your attention, I can get you to buy something. So that's what's happening is that there is money. And how many subscriptions do you have tied to your account? I don't know. Sometimes you have to hire a service just to remind you of how much money you're spending. And even with Apple, if you think about their pricing model, it used to be about the technology. Apple's making money on the subscription model more than anything else. So these are all factors that are reality, and I think that as an organization paying attention to the segment of those individuals coming into the workforce, maybe I ran an initiative where who could spend the least for the next month. And it was cool because we really actually competed against that, and it came down to the bare basics. People were cooking, they were going to the farmer's market, not Whole Foods. It was getting back to like, okay, I'm going to win this. But if you don't take control of your finances and you don't start thinking about this, if not for yourself before your children, and just being that example, it's going to be a very hard road because the costs are going up every year and we just have to deal with it with reality.

Lee Hafner (11:45):

I am really glad you mentioned the children part of that because it's not only the financial wellness of the employee, it's their whole family once they have that family. So why is it also important for employers to view this beyond the employee benefit, but as a family benefit for them as well?

Mari Kemp (12:05):

Yeah, I mean, it goes back to they're going to keep asking you for more money. They're not going to be happy. I can't tell you. I work with a lot of executives and even the CFO's like, oh, so wait, where else are you investing? They haven't figured it out because you're just expecting these checks. And I think working a corporate job is great, but it makes you a little complacent because just as long as the infusion comes, you're back on the treadmill, fusion comes and you're back on the treadmill. It's just to actually make better people. That's what our jobs are as an organization to actually make greater people. It's dealing with this and talking to this and creating a safe space around this, and that eventually transcends down to our children and all your generations because now it's a conversation. Now it's like, okay, let's pull up the spreadsheet and let's actually, even if it's a basic spreadsheet, we don't have to keep making it super complicated, make it very simple, this is how much I'm spending, and just have that moment of, wow, I'm spending $3,000 on subscriptions alone. I'm spending this much on Uber Eats or DoorDash, or I'm going on all these trips and I didn't realize I was spending $20,000 on these behaviors. So the reality of increasing levels of awareness is really important.

Lee Hafner (13:31):

So to reach the entire spectrum of employees who are really struggling live in paycheck to paycheck, they don't know how they're going to pay their bills any given month to employees who are feeling pretty good and have set themselves up pretty well. What are some various ways that employers can communicate with them to again, meet them where they are in their particular financial situation that can better their situation?

Mari Kemp (13:56):

Yeah, I think having workshops and having a knowledge share where one person can say, this is what I do and this is what I do. This is how I pay my bills. This is how I pay myself first. This is how I invest. I think those things are important. It is really interesting. I don't know what it is, I'm trying to figure it out, but when a person's really successful, they become very confidential. It's just like, so what are you investing in? Yeah, you just don't want to talk about it. And I think there's so much opportunity in actually talking about it. So what are you investing in? And for me personally, I actually have these conversations that I talk about financial health and wellness. So naturally doing these events, I was super excited about it because I'm like, wow, if we can take this and integrate this in the workplace, that would be amazing.

(14:46)

But if you create a knowledge share opportunity where maybe there's a workshop you wouldn't believe many people would attend. I think we almost got a hundred percent attendance on this because they were like, wow. It was like a load off their backs. We can talk about this, please. Or when they get bonuses, people just automatically take that and spend it, or what are you told save? And then when you save and you put in an account, then all of a sudden something happens and then it's gone. So what are we talking about with savings? So the idea is how can we work with our people to construct and devise ways for their money to work for them so they're not constantly in this hamster wheel lifestyle?

Lee Hafner (15:30):

Yeah. Thank you so much. So Amy Walker was going to join us for this as well. She's not here, so our time's going to be a little bit shorter, but I would like to open up any questions that anybody has at this time. So is there anything or any topics that anybody else would like to bring up and discuss along this line? Everybody's just ready for the wind down.

Mari Kemp (15:58):

Get it.

Lee Hafner (15:59):

Okay. So on that note, is there anything else that we haven't covered today that you would like to make sure it gets talked about in this conversation?

Mari Kemp (16:07):

Yeah, I mean, I'm really hoping that this creates a level of awareness. It's something that as inflation increases, as layoffs still keep happening. As our kids graduate from college, I just have another one who just graduated from college, and it's amazing how there's just these things aren't talked about on Instagram and TikTok and Facebook. So unless you look for it, I'm hoping it creates awareness so that not only you go back and do it for your organization, just create that safe place. And even if you have no idea whatsoever, create a place where you can do a knowledge share exchange with others, do a competition on how we could spend the least. Think about how in the world you're going to look at, because I think I'm 46, so I realize I have probably another strong five years still left in me too to keep doing this. But I want to make sure that I can actually say I'm retiring and I want to take a break, and I still have the lifestyle that I like to live, which is pretty expensive. So I just really hope that this is helpful and raises the level of awareness within yourselves, but also within your organizations.

Lee Hafner (17:21):

Thank you so much. Thank you. So speaking of the wind downs, which are going to be right next door, there are two sessions. One is hosted by Wealthy, and that is with Lindsay, their CEO, who you previously saw up here today. And the topic will be meeting the Moment to support Today's Working Caregivers. The second is hosted by Fit on Health, which is about workplace flexibility with Toby Dobbs, who is their SVP of Communication Growth. Thank you all very much.

Mari Kemp (17:49):

Thank you.