Financial institutions have taken significant strides toward integrating comprehensive financial wellness programs into their services. These initiatives not only benefit consumers by promoting sound financial habits but also serve as powerful tools for financial institutions to build loyalty.
Looking to the Future
Younger workers like Gen Z and Millennials are more eager than other generations to receive wellness resources. And, according to a 2022 Financial Wellness Survey by TIAA, they are more likely to have taken action to improve their wellness on one or more issues, including retirement-related improvements. Given that 40% of Generation Z individuals are reluctant to divulge their financial details to employers, it becomes advantageous for them to seek assistance from financial institutions that already possess access to their information.
Understanding Financial Wellness Programs
Financial wellness programs encompass a wide range of offerings, from financial education resources to goal setting and planning assistance.
- Budgeting and Expense Tracking: Financial wellness programs often include user-friendly budgeting tools and expense trackers that empower consumers to take control of their finances, helping them allocate resources efficiently and plan for the future.
- Savings and Investment Guidance: Savings and investment guidance allows consumers to make informed decisions about their financial goals, whether it’s buying a home, saving for education, or preparing for retirement.
- Insurance Protection: 45% of consumers say they would be “very” or “extremely” interested in insurance coverage from their financial institution. Insurance is an important part of financial wellness. Both primary and supplemental insurance can help consumers save money by helping to cover emergencies and unexpected costs.
Financial Wellness Program Examples
Here are a couple of the many examples of financial wellness programs offered by financial institutions:
- Bank of America’s Life Plan: Life Plan is a digital tool that helps customers set short- and long-term financial goals, then track their progress.
- JPMorgan Chase’s Financial Fitness Checkup: The Financial Fitness Checkup is a personalized online assessment that helps customers identify their financial strengths and weaknesses, and develop a plan to improve their financial well-being.
- American Airlines Federal Credit Union: This credit union has a tool called Navigator (NOMI) that uses artificial intelligence to analyze member transactions and cash flow patterns and automatically divert extra funds to savings or investments. The credit union says it has helped members save an average of $358 per month with this tool.
What Makes Programs Successful
Financial wellness programs help ease the financial concerns of Americans, but they are only helpful if consumers understand the plan and find it useful for their specific needs. According to TIAA, “92% of those with high financial wellness scores report understanding their (financial) plan extremely or very well.” Some factors contributing to a successful wellness program include:
- Accessibility: It should be easy for customers to access and participate in financial wellness programs. This may involve offering online and flexible in-person programming, as well as flexible scheduling options.
- Tailored programs: Offering different programs for different customer segments, such as young adults, retirees, and small business owners.
- Providing personalized support: Financial institutions can provide personalized support to customers through one-on-one financial coaching, group workshops, and online assessments and tools. For example, Bank of America reports that since the launch of Life Plan more than 2.3 million users have set up follow-up appointments with financial specialists.
- Tracking progress and measuring impact: Financial institutions should track the progress of their financial wellness programs through surveys, focus groups, and customer feedback. By evaluating the program’s effectiveness, financial institutions can make necessary adjustments to improve its impact over time.
Insurance is Important to Financial Wellness
Financial wellness programs have emerged as a powerful tool for financial institutions to serve consumers and build loyalty.
A critical piece of financial wellness is insurance protection. Franklin Madison provides best-in-class insurance products for your consumers and handles everything from marketing with your brand to billing and servicing. Offering a wide variety of insurance protection contributes to a well-rounded financial wellness program and builds loyalty and revenue in the process.