This is the third and final article in a series dedicated to the benefits of designing your workplace financial wellness, retirement solutions and equity compensation based on where employees are in their lives and careers. This piece focuses on considerations for employers regarding they can address the unique financial needs of your entry-level employees.
Financial stress finds employees across the income spectrum. An executive may be trying to balance their portfolio; a middle manager may be crunching numbers to try to keep saving while making a house payment and preparing to put a child through college; and an entry-level team member may be trying to save money for the first time and feeling like their student debt repayments are cramping their style and their newly activated spending power.
Rather than taking these different stressors into account, however, companies often take an umbrella approach to financial wellness, retirement planning and equity compensation. “Your company needs a provider who can speak to each level of employee,” says Tom Conlon, Head of Retirement Sales, Morgan Stanley at Work. “For employees just starting out, the conversation can be about how to take advantage of the company match for retirement savings. For middle managers, it might be about the difference between pre-tax contributions to their workplace qualified retirement plan and Roth IRAs, and what the best way for these employees to max out their annual contribution limits to these retirement vehicles. And for executives, there should be a discussion about how to maximize deferred compensation programs and understand how the taxation of such programs work.”