Financial Wellness: Buzzword or Real 401(k) Value?
Chapters
- 0:00 Cold Open: Financial Wellness Buzzwords
- 1:58 What Financial Wellness Actually Covers
- 10:48 Financial Illiteracy Statistics
- 13:51 Productivity and Financial Stress
- 18:55 Implementing Wellness Programs Properly
- 22:24 Advisor Conflicts and Compensation
- 25:44 Advisor Takeaways on Financial Wellness
- 27:26 Wrap Up and Vegas Event
Show full transcript
[0:00] JD: So there was retirement readiness, fiduciary responsibility fee regs.
[0:05] Chad: I feel like, Yeah, I feel like it became fiduciary responsibility fee regs, retirement readiness. And here we are now with financial
[0:11] JD: wellness, as Mark calls them. Buzzword. Shame on financial.
[0:18] Chad: Well, the industry, we'll say, other than the participant who's going to benefit from it. So chew on that. Tell us what is.
[0:26] JD: Let's start with what it is first. So financial wellness, you can kind of guess, but it's the entire financial picture for that person, for that employee. So it extends beyond their retirement savings, beyond their 401k, to the debt that they have, the car payments that they're making, the mortgage they have, the budget that they've created at home, the spending habits that they use. Like Justin and his North Face jacket and his fancy truck and new bed, new couch.
[1:00] Chad: Wow.
[1:00] JD: So it's those types of millennials these days.
[1:06] Chad: Financial wellness, is it coming in three days? No, four days.
[1:11] Mark: Purchase one somewhere around there.
[1:13] Justin: Why do we always get back on point here, kids? Come on.
[1:17] JD: So it's that overall Christmas picture. And I think it comes from the concept to that. How can you ask these people to
[1:25] Chad: defer 10%, 12%, 15%, attaching it to retirement readiness too, a little bit here? Everything you just stated about is about what is currently going on in that person's financial picture. I was excited. We met with principal this morning and one of the things Principal said was they were talking to people around this topic around saving for children. So that's something in the future. So financial wellness isn't just about what's happening now, but it's about what we're gonna need to saving for preparing for your college planning.
[1:58] Mark: It's very personal. It accounts for just about everything. And I could use myself as an example as I sort of researched, as shocking as that might be the topic for the show, but it showed different areas of your entire financial picture. Spending habits, you know, right now, like you say, current day and what I will call retirement investments, things on and everything in between. You begin to think like me as a person. Like, maybe I have experience and I, I know how to budget well, or I think I do, or I understand my picture, but maybe I'm not savvy on the investment side. Or maybe I'm like Justin, I'm terrible on the front end of spending habits. So it gives you a clear.
[2:38] Justin: Okay, hold on. I'm not terrible at spending.
[2:41] Chad: He's not at all.
[2:41] Mark: He's not at all. He's probably better than all of us.
[2:43] JD: Very good at spending is, as they
[2:45] Justin: like to point out, I'm single.
[2:48] Chad: JD says, I have a low phone number right here.
[2:54] Justin: I love kids. I didn't just buy a brand new house.
[2:57] Chad: Whoa.
[2:58] JD: That was a dig on me. Another thing you said, who wants it? And you said, well, the industry wants it. There were some stats. We'll talk about the T row stuff later to share that with our audience. But there were some stats that asked point plan sponsors, employers, how important is it to them that their people are saving enough for retirement, like their deferral rates? And the importance was very low. But if you ask those same employers, how important is it to you, your employees, financial stability, their financial wellness, where their head's at in regards to their financial success, and it was very important to you.
[3:34] Justin: It has to be.
[3:35] JD: So. So in a sense, plan sponsors are saying, no, no, no. We're very interested in having happy employees that have a financially sound life for a variety of reasons.
[3:46] Mark: Why is that?
[3:47] JD: Well, we'll cover those later. We'll cover those later. But before we do that, like every show, we've got to go to the beer of the episode, coffee of the show. You're gonna switch from coffee to beer now?
[4:00] Chad: He's gonna fake drink it and see what he's gonna do.
[4:03] JD: After we do that, I'll explain why those domestic beers are out there.
[4:07] Chad: Geez, don't talk poorly about domestic beers.
[4:09] Justin: You know what I kind of missed on our new opening?
[4:13] Mark: Thank you.
[4:13] Chad: What's that, Justin?
[4:14] Justin: No PDC on me.
[4:16] JD: Oh, but there's a. There's something they're gonna. They've already sorted that out.
[4:20] Chad: By the way, I love that we allow the guy that's sick with a nasty cold to touch every beer and open up everybody's drink.
[4:27] JD: I love you.
[4:28] Mark: Licked my pen earlier, by the way.
[4:30] Chad: I did because I wanted to keep it.
[4:31] JD: I love the punk rock scanning skeleton fighter pilot dude or whatever.
[4:36] Chad: Is that a skull Voodoo Ranger?
[4:40] Mark: He's got a cheese. He's got a cheeseburger on this.
[4:42] JD: Are you gonna read about it?
[4:43] Chad: Yeah, I am. It's an Imperial ipa. It's from New Belgium, which we all typically know in New Belgium. I didn't realize New Belgium was out of Fort Collins, though.
[4:50] Mark: If New Belgium comes out with a new beer, do they call it New New Belgium?
[4:54] Chad: New Belgium.
[4:55] JD: It tastes like a blend of choice hops and I, I, I smell fresh cut pine citrus flavors, and it's.
[5:04] Mark: This is useless.
[5:05] JD: Like a rich and delicious finish. That's just my.
[5:09] Chad: Hey, with your age, your eyes are
[5:11] JD: still working so well. I can't believe you can see that. I guess I would say 9% alcohol.
[5:17] Mark: But his beer. Beer wellness is going well.
[5:23] Chad: That's pretty well done. So you've tried it? What do you think?
[5:26] Justin: Once again, the pine.
[5:27] JD: I would love to get something a little more citrusy. And.
[5:30] Mark: Yeah, you did go 9%.
[5:32] JD: I don't know why this continues to happen.
[5:34] Justin: Well, who bought this?
[5:35] Chad: Who purchased. I spare. There you go.
[5:38] JD: I was just swayed by the logo in the picture.
[5:42] Mark: Oh, it's okay.
[5:43] JD: It's not bad. I like that a lot. Mr. Chad Johansson is going to have to shift. And before we talk a little more about the details of financial wellness deliver immense value to our audience. We gotta have a little fun. And Mr. Johansen thinks he's a perfectionist. He thinks he can do no wrong. And we're gonna challenge him in a taste test of some domestic beers.
[6:07] Mark: So you sound kind of like Odell Beckham Jr. We see there. That's going right now.
[6:13] Chad: Hey, I know I can do that.
[6:14] JD: We'll talk about the Raiders later. Put on this fancy blind.
[6:18] Mark: That's the blindfold.
[6:19] JD: I didn't realize he can see.
[6:22] Chad: Actually, I can't. There's a nose piece there that blocks. We should all note that. I can't smell anything, though.
[6:29] JD: We've got some classic domestic light beers.
[6:32] Chad: I don't trust you two whispering over there.
[6:34] JD: We're gonna shift them around,
[6:39] Chad: so. I should have paid more attention to how that works.
[6:41] JD: We're gonna crack them, and you're gonna let us know which one you think.
[6:47] Chad: I really don't trust you.
[6:49] JD: If you don't get all three right, then we're gonna dump them on your head.
[6:53] Chad: Nay. Okay. Am I ready?
[6:55] JD: Yeah. Cold.
[6:56] Chad: This.
[6:57] JD: Slowly. Sip. What?
[7:03] Mark: I don't trust Chad doing this.
[7:05] JD: Oh, he's. He's honest.
[7:06] Mark: Yeah.
[7:07] Chad: Wait, are you gonna tell me? What. What were the three options again?
[7:12] JD: I forgot. I don't remember.
[7:13] Mark: We can't see. No.
[7:14] JD: Coors Light, Bud Light Light.
[7:21] Chad: All right, all right. Where's the next one? Okay, I need to have all three,
[7:26] JD: so that's number one.
[7:27] Justin: Are you gonna go in order and tell us about.
[7:29] JD: No, no, that's fair. That's fair.
[7:32] Mark: How about this? I'll give you. I'll give you just.
[7:34] JD: That's very fair. This is the number one position. I'll put this in number two. You only get one and a half steps.
[7:46] Mark: Chad just really wants to get drunk.
[7:47] JD: Is it hard?
[7:48] Chad: I think. I think I know him. I feel pretty confident in my.
[7:51] JD: Who out there thinks they could. Thinks they could do this. I don't. You can play along at home if you'd like.
[7:58] Chad: Should have paid more attention.
[7:59] Mark: Go to your local liquor store at 10 o' clock in the morning, buy a couple tall cans.
[8:07] JD: I don't know if you can do this if you work at Maryland.
[8:09] Chad: I think that. I think
[8:13] JD: that's your three spot. We got another one.
[8:15] Chad: Wait, what?
[8:16] JD: Yes, Someone handed me another drink. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with it. It's perfectly fine. You heard the crisp crack of the can.
[8:23] Chad: It doesn't mean that's what you're handing me.
[8:25] JD: No, I am. I promise you. I handed you.
[8:28] Chad: I'm taking a smaller drink of this.
[8:36] JD: I thought I'd get a different reaction out of that.
[8:41] Chad: I can't taste much because I'm sick.
[8:46] JD: By the way, if you. You're not a good beer taster, I can tell you right now because the last one was not a light beer. It was something that was supposed to get you going.
[8:55] Chad: No, it doesn't taste like a light beer. Okay, good. I think it went. You're gonna make me forget my damn order. Go ahead.
[9:01] JD: What do you think?
[9:02] Chad: I think it went. Miller Coors, Bud Light.
[9:05] Justin: Wow. Incredible, dude.
[9:08] Chad: The third, the fourth one I felt like was an IPA or all four were the same.
[9:17] JD: Miller,
[9:19] Mark: almost ipa.
[9:22] Chad: What is it? Oh, geez. It actually wasn't that bad.
[9:27] JD: You got Oath from Raw.
[9:29] Chad: Did I really?
[9:32] Mark: And that was the quiz.
[9:32] JD: Which means we pour them all on your head. Yeah, I should do.
[9:36] Chad: Did I really have all of them wrong?
[9:37] JD: I would never pour the beer in your head because I really like this.
[9:40] Chad: Which order was it?
[9:41] Justin: That was the order.
[9:43] Chad: I thought for sure. Coors was second. I felt confident about that.
[9:46] JD: Now someone else could try, but since you have a virus, we're going to just move on.
[9:52] Chad: You've already battled it, so come on, you've got the protection set up.
[9:57] JD: Do one later. Do one later. All right, so I fail.
[10:00] Mark: Yeah. Good job.
[10:02] Chad: And Justin's driving home.
[10:05] JD: So let me jump right into some real stats on financial wellness that I thought were shocking yet interesting at the same time. 64% say finances are the. He's spilling. Are the largest source of stress in their life. 64% of employees say that their finances are the largest source of stress in their life. 24%. This one was crazy to me. 24% of wages go to consumer debt payments. So they're carrying high loads of debt. And this is the scariest one. And you mentioned to it. I'll put you on the spot. What percentage of them only have can't cover a thousand bucks.
[10:48] Mark: 64%.
[10:49] JD: 64% can. Don't have 1,000 bucks together to cover some kind of an emergency. So all those stats are saying is people are in rough shape when it comes to.
[11:00] Mark: So if we were that group, three of us would be in that situation.
[11:06] JD: So everybody's in rough shape.
[11:08] Chad: And so think about that.
[11:09] JD: If you would just sell some more.
[11:13] Chad: 64%, right. Can't cover 24% are paying down significant debts. That leads to the 60, the other 64% which feel pressure about their financial situation. Right.
[11:27] JD: I do want to add the four step, but it seems so negative. 43% of American adults are financially illiterate. I don't know
[11:38] Chad: what I was getting at with that is that you have the two bottom factors that are, that are supporting the first one, which is finances can create success, significant stress for people.
[11:47] Justin: What does that do to people, to employers?
[11:49] Chad: Well, that's just it. Right. So what does that, what does that relate to within a business? I mean, you're a business owner. Think about it. If all the employees were stressed about finances or 64% were, and maybe they
[12:02] Mark: all are, we should probably just ask.
[12:04] Chad: We don't know.
[12:05] JD: Honestly, as, as, as an employer, that would hit very deep. Like what you don't want is the people that are out there that are coming here trying to focus on work to be overwhelmed with at home struggles with our finances.
[12:21] Chad: Disconnect yourself from hippie. I love everybody and just wish that everybody would be happy. J.D. and put yourself in a sole business owner driving, bottom line perspective. What does that.
[12:33] JD: So it's really worse than the friendly nice feelings is, are they being attentive? Are they giving good customer service? You know, are they putting their job first and foremost and throughout their day, you know, are they distracted? Are they efficient? All those things you would think as a would be a huge negative.
[12:52] Justin: If they're struggling financially, research shows that they're absolutely not. Absolutely not. They're distracted. Productivity goes down. So it's affecting your bottom line.
[13:00] Chad: So let me ask a question that none of this addressed when we read through this T row, which we'll touch on. If your employees are stressed about their financial situation, what is their engine for driving finances for their family? Their job? Right. And if they're stressed about their financial situation, do you think that they're attaching that to the fact that maybe their job's not supporting them in the way they need to and that leads to lack of Productivity and unhappiness. And Mark, you brought it up because your prior life is, you know, being an HR person. If all of those things exist, people work longer, they end up sticking around longer. What does that lead to? Which we've heard everybody talk about higher expenses. When you have older employees, the actual benefit costs go up, payroll goes up because they've been with you longer. And inevitably they get raises over time.
[13:51] JD: And no offense, but super old people are just less productive in general.
[13:57] Chad: It is the nature.
[13:59] JD: It's not always true.
[14:02] Chad: This isn't adjusted.
[14:03] Justin: But what about turnover, though, too? You know, you talk about those people being distracted. Okay. My current job is not, you know, suffice. Sufficing right now. So I'm gonna go look for another job that's gonna pay me more.
[14:15] JD: And that's a huge cost to the employer when you have high turnover.
[14:18] Chad: So before we answer the question I asked earlier, let me ask this question. Whose responsibility is financial wealth? Are you scared to answer?
[14:25] JD: No.
[14:26] Chad: Whose responsibility is this? Financial wellness.
[14:29] Justin: Ultimately, it's the individual.
[14:30] Mark: Yeah.
[14:30] Chad: That's what.
[14:31] Mark: Actually, when you were talking about it earlier, I was going to say, I get that finances can be the number one stressor, but that's a personal matter.
[14:40] JD: Right.
[14:40] Mark: It'd be the same thing as having relationship issues. Maybe your spouse and you're having a fight.
[14:46] Chad: Right.
[14:47] JD: Maybe you found a new buzzword. Having problems at home, in the bedroom or, you know, I didn't take the bedroom.
[14:56] Mark: Did you talk to my wife?
[14:57] JD: Anyways, I could create a whole website on that.
[15:00] Mark: So marketing pieces. Now we get into it. That's the side subject. But so like a lot of times, right, We're. We're expected as employees of a business to sort of leave those things at the door.
[15:13] JD: Yeah.
[15:14] Mark: And some things you can I get. So you drag it in. But I'm glad you said it because you related it and this is news to me even on the show, but you related it directly to the employer that your pay comes direct from that. So that's a very unique perspective. I appreciate that because the whole time I was sitting here thinking, being that naysayer, ah, this is just a bunch of hocus pocus. And good for the people that want to gain more assets and just have additional value adds to go out and talk about.
[15:46] JD: And I wanted to. But it's a real.
[15:47] Mark: It's a real deal issue at the end of the day. Right. I can go right back to retirement readiness, that fancy buzzword from last year, so. Last year. So you attach that to financial wellness at the end of the day, why are they working longer and causing you more expenses as an employer? Because they can't afford to retire. So it all kind of comes full circle.
[16:08] JD: Circle. By the way, I still have this image in my head now, like, hi, I'm Joe from Merrill Lynch. I'm doing a PowerPoint presentation today on having a better relationship with your wife at home and
[16:23] Mark: answer all your questions.
[16:24] Chad: So, Mark, you said it's personal, which I agree.
[16:29] Mark: Well, you. Sorry we didn't answer your question.
[16:31] Chad: We haven't got to that question.
[16:33] Mark: The other question. Yeah, I think it boils down to it's a personal individual.
[16:38] Chad: Is retirement readiness being able to retire a personal issue as well? I would say. But why as an industry do we take that responsibility on then?
[16:48] Mark: Because without that sort of value that they can bring and sort of bringing it to the table as individuals, we wouldn't do anything to make changes or to be proactive or to do anything to get to a point.
[17:05] Chad: We're to JD's first bullet point.
[17:07] JD: We want to get their assets into our mutual fund.
[17:10] Chad: So that's my next statement. Get ready. So JD's first point then. If a certain percentage of people, which I already forgot are financially illiterate, what you're saying is they're not going to take action and therefore we as an industry are taking that responsibility on ourselves to say we're going to try to bridge this gap for you.
[17:28] JD: Right.
[17:29] Mark: That's what we're doing with an evil intention.
[17:32] Chad: So that's my next question. Back to my first question. We know the participant will.
[17:39] Justin: Yeah.
[17:40] Chad: Outside of that. Is going to benefit from the push toward financial wellness debate.
[17:47] JD: Smoked you right there. You see that circled around. And he's saying the employer needs this to happen. This is something the employer has to
[17:56] Chad: have happen, which is why it's a big buzzword right now is we're trying to attach that as an industry.
[18:02] JD: Chad, you're a lot smarter than you look.
[18:05] Chad: You don't know what beer is. What.
[18:06] Mark: But you know your stuff.
[18:08] JD: That's true. And it's to piggyback.
[18:11] Justin: Wait, but you're.
[18:12] Mark: Hold on. You're going. And you're saying that the. The employer is the benefactor of all this?
[18:19] Justin: Absolutely.
[18:19] Chad: Okay, Well, I would be, but that's not what I was saying.
[18:22] Mark: Oh, that's what I thought. Yeah. I'm going to the next level to say that the industry's the benefactor.
[18:29] Chad: Well, everybody is. I think that that's the end. What I was saying is who's responsible and then who's going to benefit from it. You said inevitably. Hopefully the participant is and I'm saying the employer is and the industry is. That's why the industry is willing to bridge this gap. While it is a buzzword, their thought is it's gonna drive assets, it's gonna create better outcomes, it's gonna get people to save more because they feel more stable in other avenues of their life.
[18:55] Mark: I think it's a good thing, don't get me wrong. But I think it has to be done in the right way. A program has to be established. That's not just a way to push people in a direction they don't need to go and to do things they don't need to do. It needs to be really a personal flow on making someone's financial well being a little bit more well known to them because I guarantee they don't have a good idea.
[19:18] JD: Can we play this out because. And I totally get and appreciate your approach and I agree with a lot of it in terms of the industry just looking for a buzzword. And by the way, that's totally okay for advisor audiences out there. We talked about this earlier.
[19:31] Chad: You have to utilize it.
[19:32] JD: I want something to wedge the door open. I want something to talk about that's maybe not just 401k. I want different lures in my fishing box that I can use at appropriate times. Fishing box. Clearly I don't fish.
[19:49] Mark: Neither do I.
[19:52] JD: So it is okay for the buzzwords to be known to me and for me to research those and understand them so I can get in there and make some points and wedge some doors open to create opportunities for myself. But then I also agree with you. Then what's the execution? And so is it just PowerPoint presentations? And by the way, is that a bad thing that I'm going to get in front of everyone, do a presentation from T. Rowe Price or whatever on where your debt should be, you know, versus your income and educate a room of 50 people and they walk home and go, you know what? I have too much debt. I listened to what he said, I need to do something about it. Or doesn't need to be a more one on one sit down looking at a personal financial picture somewhere in between all the things. But it's all good stuff, right? I mean it's making a difference.
[20:41] Mark: Yeah.
[20:41] Justin: I mean it's adding value to what they're trying to do. Yeah, okay. Yeah. The, the negative side is you see it as the, the industry is just trying to find a way to get, you know, make another buck Okay, I didn't say that.
[20:52] Chad: I was gonna say. I don't think he's. In a sense, I think that that's.
[20:54] Mark: Okay, Mark, please strike that from the record.
[20:59] JD: Mark's never gonna go.
[21:01] Mark: I'm literally never gonna get another meeting ever again.
[21:05] Chad: No. So let me, let me jump on that bandwagon a little bit, Mark, because this is where I want.
[21:11] Mark: Our producer needs a beer because he's like, this is ridiculous.
[21:14] JD: That's important.
[21:14] Chad: I want to bring this thing full circle in terms of where my thought was when I asked the initial question.
[21:20] Justin: Pretty dizzy.
[21:21] Chad: When we talked about who this is going to benefit, none of us said the advisor. Okay. So I said everybody. I said whose responsibility is it? We said individuals. But who's going to bridge that responsibility? We said the industry. If we had been more specific, I think when you look at the tools that are being delivered from most of the folks out there, their thought is the advisor is going to use this as a differentiator and the advisor is going to bridge that gap.
[21:49] JD: Correct? Correct. Yeah.
[21:51] Chad: But the advisor is not going to be the one to benefit from this. We look at the way the industry is going right now. Thinner margins, cost being driven as low as they can possibly go and tech. Right. So is that advisor going to look at this? Unless they're using it as a differentiator to win the business, then it comes to fulfillment of it. Is the advisor going to schedule three meetings a year to go stand in front of people and talk about something that's not going to lead to revenue for their practice? They have to be a business owner too. And that's why I'm saying I'm supporting your thought.
[22:24] JD: But two things on that for our audience is one, that advisor, like you said, maybe they just got to win the business. And so are they making money from that? Yeah, because they won the business because they brought in that lure.
[22:37] Chad: So fulfillment increases.
[22:40] JD: And I asked the question, you could charge for this. I mean, I realize maybe that there's. Well, and by the way, there can be products that you can sell along this because I guess you can lean towards insurance, long term care. Does that fall into this? It does.
[22:58] Chad: Oh, absolutely.
[22:59] JD: So sure there are ancillary services you
[23:02] Justin: can utilize in regards to that.
[23:03] JD: Maybe you build the employer, you know, a couple grand to deliver these four meetings a year.
[23:08] Justin: But how much, how much time is that going to cost you, Advisor? So that's the biggest thing specific to the advisor only.
[23:15] JD: Fair enough.
[23:15] Justin: Are they going to be able to put in the time to do that? For each individual.
[23:21] Mark: I don't think they have to. Not each individual.
[23:24] Chad: So this is the collaboration I think is valuable for me at least to hear is because it may not lead to profit. When I look at bottom line for the advisor, it may not necessarily lead to profit other than winning the business. But if you are leveraging the tool that I think we're going to talk about a little bit which would be this T. Rowe Price tool or even like with the conversation we had with principal this morning, utilizing some of the stuff that they're pushing out there certainly make that efficient.
[23:51] Mark: Goes hand in hand with this.
[23:52] Chad: Yeah, you want to, you want to have a discussion on. I mean they talked about saving for future children is the way I interpret it. And they're giving you a webinar, a pre recorded webinar to utilize and you send that out to all the people
[24:03] Mark: or like college plans.
[24:06] Chad: Well I interpret it as for having children, they're targeting younger millennial earlier in life, earlier working career I should say type folks first of all.
[24:16] JD: So let's, let's start to wrap that circle and let everyone know. And it's not a paid advertisement, but T. Rowe Price has built out a big thing. So if you want to learn more about this, go to t row price.com wellnessworks is that a forward slash or
[24:34] Chad: is that a. I'm not sure I like dashes better.
[24:38] Mark: They're easier.
[24:39] JD: Wellness works. Check it out. What is there is statistics, percentages, tools on how to actually pitch this pieces. There's checklists, there's questions.
[24:48] Mark: We all know that the DOL and the fiduciary regs are what are flooding inboxes right now. But when the dust settles on that, I think what we're trying to point out is that 8 out of the 10 emails you get in the morning from all the links and websites you subscribe to are going to be about this topic. Tools will start coming out, people will start pushing it.
[25:10] Chad: So be on the front end of
[25:12] Mark: that and start thinking about ways to implement that into your, into your practice.
[25:17] Chad: I feel like it attaches to some of that fiduciary definition and release and some of what's happening right now because it's giving folks an avenue to pursue education specifically to what we're talking about with T. Rowe and others to pursue education beyond the advisor sitting down and giving it. There's tools to do this. Put this as, make this as part of your practice and your deliverable and you don't have to sit down and give advice to that individual. Participant leverage. The people who are creating these tools.
[25:44] JD: And if it's not really a core part of your business model, at least be educated on it so you can talk about it and, you know, relate to your employer because clearly it's important to them.
[25:55] Mark: Because some people, and that's again, in my prior life having HR experience, I know that those groups are going to be focused on that if that's a big thing. And they're going to be sitting down with these advisors and they may not ask the questions because they're always pretty quiet. They want to hear you say that.
[26:12] Chad: It's what opens their eyes. Right. You mentioned that's what's going to get that person driving down benefit costs. You mentioned something like having your folks feel financially stable and having an educational campaign. Yeah, that opens their eyes. It gets them excited for sure.
[26:26] JD: What I want to say is now that if you've got wellness in your quiver of arrows, be prepared for the next buzzword, which is your relationships at home with your spouse and whatever, because I'm going to come out with a full website on that. It's going to be like, what's the.
[26:43] Justin: Are you still going to be pictured surfing?
[26:45] Mark: What's the buzzword going to be for that? Like, I'll come up with something different. Sexy time.
[26:49] Chad: I feel like Tracy does love him quite a bit. So you want happy employees.
[26:56] Mark: You want, you want a good buzzword. So my wife doesn't have very good vision, so she had to go pick up contacts yesterday. And she told Maya, two and a half years old, she said, maya, we're going to go pick up contacts for, for mommy. And Maya, without missing a beat, goes, okay, we're going to go pick up mommy's tongue sex contacts. Tongue sex.
[27:19] JD: That's.
[27:19] Mark: That's my daughter's.
[27:20] JD: Those are personal. Palmenia.
[27:22] Mark: Buzzword.
[27:23] JD: I don't know. Oh, is that what we call it?
[27:25] Justin: Tongue sex.
[27:26] JD: So we're going to wrap this. Thank you for spending some time with us here on the retireholics couch. We will also be in Las Vegas October 22nd through the 24th. Same thing. Live shows, hosting little events.
[27:43] Chad: That is an awesome conference, by the way. We touch on at some point. But that Excel 401K is. It's fantastic.
[27:50] JD: Go to it. Go to it. It will be at the. The Paris Hotel this year as opposed to the Cosmo last year. Sorry, LinkedIn.
[27:58] Mark: They have a cool bar there.
[28:00] JD: This is Justin McNeil. Mark Palmini. I forgot what this guy's name is. J.D. carlson. We are the retireholics Parentheses K. We drink beer.
[28:13] Chad: What are we doing?
[28:14] JD: I know what you're telling me. We changed the retirement plan industry. One Voodoo Ranger New Belgium Imperial IPA at a time.
[28:24] Chad: Cheers.
Show notes
Is financial wellness just another industry buzzword, or a genuine game-changer for 401(k) plans? JD Carlson explores the data, the hype, and what advisors actually need to know.
Financial wellness sounds great in theory, but does it actually move the needle for participants and plan sponsors? In this episode, JD Carlson and guests dig into whether financial wellness programs (covering debt, budgeting, spending habits, and holistic financial health beyond retirement savings) deliver real value or just marketing spin.
The stats are sobering: 64% of employees cite finances as their biggest source of stress, 40% can't cover a $1,000 emergency, and 43% are financially illiterate. These aren't retirement-only problems, they hit productivity, retention, and employer bottom lines. But who's actually responsible for fixing it? Participants, employers, advisors, or the industry as a whole?
You'll hear candid debate on fiduciary responsibility, whether wellness programs protect or expose advisors, and how to implement practical solutions without crushing margins. The conversation includes a look at real tools like T. Rowe Price's wellness platform and actionable strategies for advisors to position themselves as trusted guides, not just fund pickers.
Plus: beer tastings, industry banter, and straight talk about whether this trend is here to stay or destined to become the next abandoned 401(k) initiative.
Perfect for 401(k) advisors, TPAs, plan sponsors, and recordkeepers looking to stay ahead of the wellness conversation.
MORE FROM RETIREHOLICS
Full episode notes & transcript: https://retireholics.com/episodes/financial-wellness-industry-buzzword-or-401k-value-add-retireholiks-21/
All past episodes: https://retireholics.com/episodes/
Live every 1st & 3rd Thursday at 4:30pm PT: https://retireholics.com/live/
Get show reminders: https://retireholics.com/get-reminders/
SUBSCRIBE
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Retireholiks
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/retireholics/id1490618217
Podbean: https://retireholiks.podbean.com/
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Retireholics is the show changing the retirement industry one beer at a time. Hosted by JD Carlson and co-hosts, covering 401(k) plan design, fiduciary responsibility, fees, investments, and industry news for retirement plan advisors and professionals.
Financial wellness sounds great in theory, but does it actually move the needle for participants and plan sponsors? In this episode, JD Carlson and guests dig into whether financial wellness programs (covering debt, budgeting, spending habits, and holistic financial health beyond retirement savings) deliver real value or just marketing spin.
The stats are sobering: 64% of employees cite finances as their biggest source of stress, 40% can't cover a $1,000 emergency, and 43% are financially illiterate. These aren't retirement-only problems, they hit productivity, retention, and employer bottom lines. But who's actually responsible for fixing it? Participants, employers, advisors, or the industry as a whole?
You'll hear candid debate on fiduciary responsibility, whether wellness programs protect or expose advisors, and how to implement practical solutions without crushing margins. The conversation includes a look at real tools like T. Rowe Price's wellness platform and actionable strategies for advisors to position themselves as trusted guides, not just fund pickers.
Plus: beer tastings, industry banter, and straight talk about whether this trend is here to stay or destined to become the next abandoned 401(k) initiative.
Perfect for 401(k) advisors, TPAs, plan sponsors, and recordkeepers looking to stay ahead of the wellness conversation.
MORE FROM RETIREHOLICS
Full episode notes & transcript: https://retireholics.com/episodes/financial-wellness-industry-buzzword-or-401k-value-add-retireholiks-21/
All past episodes: https://retireholics.com/episodes/
Live every 1st & 3rd Thursday at 4:30pm PT: https://retireholics.com/live/
Get show reminders: https://retireholics.com/get-reminders/
SUBSCRIBE
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Retireholiks
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/retireholics/id1490618217
Podbean: https://retireholiks.podbean.com/
---
Retireholics is the show changing the retirement industry one beer at a time. Hosted by JD Carlson and co-hosts, covering 401(k) plan design, fiduciary responsibility, fees, investments, and industry news for retirement plan advisors and professionals.