I want to start this post by having you close your eyes and imagining the following scenario. Imagine you go to your mechanic to get your oil changed and tires rotated. You go in and grab a cup of coffee, check your emails, make a few phone calls, and whatever else you do while you are waiting for your car. The next thing you know the mechanic is bringing you your keys so you can go to the counter and pay for the services. You then begin your journey back to work or home. All of a sudden a car slams on its brakes in front of you and you go to hit your brakes and they don’t work. After the accident, you are very thankful to be alive and at the same time very upset at your mechanic for not telling you the brake lines were cut.
You may be wondering how this applies to the financial wellness of the employees in the pharmacy 401k. Imagine your 401k advisor or broker meeting with your employees and only addressing the issue of retirement (I know this is the primary reason for the 401k), and not informing the employees that they may want to think about getting their wills completed or getting life or disability insurance. What if he or she doesn’t discuss getting the employee on a budget to help them save more for retirement? Isn’t this like going to your mechanic to get an oil change and him or her not telling you your brake lines are cut?
Financial wellness for your employees means working with them to improve their overall financial health. This will directly impact the ability of that specific employee to increase his or her savings in the retirement plan (this is the ultimate purpose of the pharmacy 401k). It is our opinion that increasing the financial wellness of each employee, which allows them to save more money for retirement, turns your 401k plan into a true benefit that is valued by each employee the decides to use it.
Unfortunately, many advisors and brokers do not realize the impact of this or are too busy and cannot take the time with each individual employee. Here are three questions you can ask your broker/advisor that can help you determine if he or she is the right fit for your employees:
- Are you willing to meet with my employees at a minimum of two times per year?
- Are you qualified to give financial planning advice to my employees?
- Are you willing to take fiduciary responsibility for the work you do with my employees?