Repeated studies show workers are not wisely
investing the money they have to prepare for retirement-giving rise to
investment education in the workplace.
One of the companies providing such services,
however, says that there's another issue on the minds of workers: the
money they owe.
Financial Finesse, a third-party provider of
financial planning and investment education, says the telephone hotline
service it runs for clients spends more than a third of its time
answering questions about debt.
"Debt is always the number one topic," says Liz
Davidson, founder and CEO of the company, which is based in Manhattan
Beach, Calif. "The topic will often be credit card debt, student loans
or questions about filing for bankruptcy."
About 37% of the calls received by the hotline
pertain to debt. By comparison, 16% of the calls are about budget and
saving, 14% about taxes and only 10% about retirement planning.
The hotline receives between 500 and 750 calls a quarter, Davidson says.
Overall, Davidson says, the demand for workplace
education programs is on the rise-for various reasons. Some companies,
for example, are instituting education programs as they phase out
defined benefit programs. Companies are also concerned about low worker
participation in 401(k) plans, Davidson says, as well as worker
retention.
She cites hospitals as one industry where education
services are in most demand, partly because of a nursing shortage that
has forced medical centers to make their employee benefits more
attractive.
Manufacturing companies are also wrestling with the problem of low
401(k) participation rates and poor investment management among those
who do participate, she adds.
Financial Finesse, which was founded in 1999, now
has a client list of 500 companies comprising a total of 500,000
employees. In addition to the hotline, the company's services include
seminars, individual counseling and online educational services at its Web site, www.financialfinesse.com.
The company, Davidson adds, is looking for more
CFP's to create educational content and to interact with clients and
their employees. The company's CFP's work as full-time employees, she
adds, with a starting annual salary of $80,000 and incentives that typically push the amount to six figures.
"It's a job for planners who are passionate about
educating, but don't enjoy the prospecting and selling," Davidson says.