“There is no instant gratification; it’s not like auto-enrollment,” Delaney says. “It’s new, it’s rapidly evolving, and it’s difficult to measure the return on investment.”
The case studies that do exist are mostly from financial wellness providers, says Delaney, but they show dramatic results. A study from Financial Finesse showed that after a one-year period, hours missed due to unscheduled call-ins dropped from 14.8 hours per participant to 10.8 hours per participant. Health-care costs went up 19.4 percent for plan participants who did not use financial wellness programs, but decreased by 4.5 percent for those who were enrolled in the program.
In another case study by SmartDollar, 39 percent of participants who enrolled in financial wellness were able to max out their plan contributions after two years in the programs.
Plan sponsors are increasingly aware of these benefits, says Delaney, but they don’t know how to access wellness programs.
“This is the perfect opportunity for a financial advisor to say, ‘Yes, I’m your investment person, I’m your retirement plan person, but I have a place in this conversation,’” Delaney says. “Plan advisors especially are going to wish they had grabbed onto financial wellness in 2016 or 2017 as opposed to when everyone is doing it in 2019 or 2020, and it’s too late.”