HomebusinesshealthAwards and RecognitionbusinesshealthResourcesBlog
The Callery Group
About UsOur ServicesContact Us

Financial Wellness: Why Money Management Counseling is Such a Good Idea
Debt counseling and money management education can make a big difference for employees

Ask anyone who’s just had that first serious thought about planning ahead for retirement what they wish they had done differently, and they’ll all tell you the same thing: they wish they had started planning and saving much sooner.

But that’s only part of the “financial wellness” picture.

Offering basic financial education and counseling to employees is a chance for employers and benefits management pros to do something really useful for employees.

I would say from the start that financial wellness resources should really fall into two categories: debt counseling services and financial planning education. The reason is simple: they are different in a lot of ways.

Out-of-control debt can be a huge life problem for people, creating anxiety and casting a shadow over everything else in their lives. In terms of long-term negative effects, it can be right up there with substance abuse.

That’s why offering access to debt counseling through the EAP is such a good idea. Like a lot of real problems that people are reluctant to talk about, the key here is to make sure that employees know that help is available and that they can access it in complete privacy and confidentiality. (Lunch-and-learn sessions on the whole range of EAP services are a good way to get the word out in a very non-threatening way.)

When it comes to financial planning, people give a lot of reasons for not doing anything. Most of us can identify with most of those reasons, but they represent a mindset that financial wellness planning has to address.

  • I can barely cover all my bills now, and I have nothing left to invest anyway.
  • I don’t know anything about saving or investing.
  • I’m uncomfortable with the whole idea, and it just makes me anxious.
  • Once I get ahead in my career, I’ll be making more money, and any little bit I put aside now will be irrelevant.
  • My house is my retirement savings plan.
  • Sure, I plan to start saving some time, but right now I’m getting this great vehicle.

My advice, based on what I’m told by our experts, and what I’ve heard from clients over the years, is to keep it simple. And I don’t mean “dumbed down,” I mean practical and uncomplicated.

By the way, an important thing to remember is that you – the employer – cannot and should not offer specific financial advice. It’s important to make that clear from the outset, and to make it clear again if employees ask for advice. You can explain the difference between an RRSP and a TFSA, even point out the advantages of both, but you can’t go beyond that with specific investment advice.

Here are some of the topics that many of our clients are already covering in their financial wellness programs.

  • How the company pension plan works. It’s surprising how many people, when they start a new job, pay little or no attention to the explanation of the pension plan. They see a deduction on their pay slips -- and that’s about it. But understanding how it really works – the employer contributions, the tax advantages, how the money grows, what happens to it if you change jobs – is basically all good.
  • RRSPs and TFSAs. Of course, most people have at least a general understanding of how these plans work, but just talking about them in a dedicated session will give them practical information, clear up any misconceptions -- or people’s natural inclination to suspect that there must be a catch – and get them seriously thinking about financial planning. (Then talk about direct deposit and automatic payroll deductions…).
  • Financial literacy. Many people would enjoy a general session on money, investing, mortgage rules, the ins and outs of tax laws, and a whole range of other topics. A chance to have a qualified person – and, above all, someone not trying to sell them something – available to answer questions in a session can be helpful to most of us.
  • Shopping for professional financial advice – when the topics above don’t cover it. Once you have maxed out your RRSPs and TFSA, where to you go next? Do you need professional help? What are your major options? And so on.

One of the great things about all this – I think of it as entry-level financial planning – is that it has a very good chance of sticking, and making a big difference in the lives of employees in the long run. A big reason for that, oddly enough, is online financial services: if you set up an RRSP and/or a TFSA, you can see your money and watch it grow every time you go online to do any kind of transaction. Pretty soon, people are talking about “my RRSP” or “my investments.” That can be very powerful in setting people on the path to financial freedom.

If there is a topic that you would like me to write about, please email me at bill@penmore.com.

Copyright Notice

All rights reserved. All of the content herein is the sole property of the Penmore Callery Group, and may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system - in whole or in part - without the written permission of the Penmore Callery Group. Links to the originating article at www.callerygroup.com are permitted.

The Buzz Bits
Miscellaneous links to interesting benefits information

Sun Life adds medical marijuana coverage to group benefits plans

Ontario's Extended Personal Emergency Leave

Buy-ins and boomerangs: A look at the trends in Canada’s annuity market

Heads Up: Legislated Changes 2018

Mental-health approach key to tackling financial wellness

Canada second-highest spender on generic drugs among OECD countries

Bill 148: Changes and Strategies for Employers

Employers' New Year Roadmap

A Guide for New Employers

Best Practices for Hiring: Employees or Contractors

Community Ethics, Big City Expertise

Subscribe to the Buzz Blog

Blog archive

Time To Get Ahead Of The Curve

"We've all been working from home for the last four months and now it looks like we're probably never going to go back to working in the office." It’s a statement I'm hearing every day, as more and more workplaces are discovering that working from home is working out better than anyone ever imagined. [more]

Hitting Reset On The Mindset

We can't afford to think "when this is over." We have a job to do and a chance to step up and really shine [more]

Working From Home

10 ways to communicate effectively in a working-from-home environment  [more]

Managing Paramedical Benefits

Think aboutwhy you offer paramedical benefits in order to manage them effectively  [more]

It's All About The Experience

I thought cell phone dependency was a cliche - until I lost mine far from home  [more]

What Happened When I Lost My Phone

I thought cell phone dependency was a cliche - until I lost mine far from home  [more]

"Mental Health" Doesn't Mean What it Used to Mean

We’re done admiring the problem, and it’s time to take some action  [more]

When There is No Return to Work

An Ontario court has set a limit on employers' return-to-work obligations  [more]

Rooting Out the Root Causes

When benefits fraud gets out of hand, it's a sign of big problems higher up  [more]

Four Key Gaps in Benefits Plans

Annual Sanofi survey zeros in on knowledge gaps in plan management [more]

How to Avoid Falling Through the Generation Gaps

Never mind "the older" and "the younger" generation – there are now five of them [more]

Predictive Analysis and Three Other Trends to Watch

Benefits and wellness programs are never going to be the same again [more]

Pharmacare: A Solution Looking for a Problem

Pharmacare would be such a good idea - if everybody wasn't already covered [more]

When the "Human Side" Gets Right in Your Face

A seriously injured client gives us a whole new perspective on resilience [more]

Is Virtual Health Care the New Must-Have Benefit?

In the age of the smart phone, do we really still need to line up and wait to talk to a doctor? [more]

Three Things I Learned from Doc Martin

When it comes to losing weight, there are a few basics you just can't get around [more]

Top 10 Take-Aways from a Crazy Busy Year

What we can learn from the biggest and most controversial issues we've looked at this year [more]

Engagement is the New Normal

What do employees really want from their jobs? [more]

10 Things You Need to Know about Travel Insurance

How to avoid making the mistakes that could cost you your insurance coverage [more]

How to Give First Aid for Mental Health

There's a new perspective on mental health at work, and it's a real eye-opener [more]

What Else Is In Bill 148 - And Why You Need to Know

There's a lot more to Bill 148 than minimum wage hikes and personal emergency leave [more]

The Next Big Thing in Benefits?

Major insurance providers are looking seriously at covering pharmacogenetic testing [more]

Will Cannabis Legalization Change Attitudes about Testing?

New legal limits for impairment may have a bigger impact than legalization [more]

Avoiding The Dreaded "Claim Rejected"

Benefits administrators are always caught in the middle when claims are rejected [more]

Big Data Takes On Benefits Fraud

Data analysis is starting to make a dent in many benefits fraud schemes [more]

The Chronic Pain Puzzle

Financial costs alone are higher than cancer, heart disease and HIV combined [more]

Financial Wellness: Why Money Management Counseling is Such a Good Idea

Debt counseling and money management education can make a big difference for employees [more]

The Next Big Thing: Mental Health Policy

It's time to get ahead of the curve on this one [more]

Unintended Lessons I've learned about Blogging so far

You never know what's going to happen when you click on a link [more]

Drugs, Alcohol and, Oh Yes, Marijuana

Changing times may require all of us to take a long hard look at our drug-and-alcohol policies [more]

Best Tips For Sleeping Well

If you're just not sleeping well, there are some pretty effective things you can do to make it better [more]

Survey Says: Wellness Programs Improve Overall Satisfaction

It seems that employees' satisfaction with wellness programs spills over into satisfaction with their benefits programs and their jobs in general [more]

Changes Coming to Personal Emergency Leave Laws

Amendments to the Employment Standards Act will significantly increase legally mandated employee leaves [more]

The Good News and the Bad News on Diabetes

We keep hearing about a "diabetes epidemic," but there are things we can do now to improve our odds of beating the statistics [more]

Who's Your "Broker" Working For?

In a world of brokers, agents, advisors and consultants, it's important to stay focused on who's really working for you [more]

The Secret to Really Good Workplace Wellness

Workplace wellness is a way to solve a lot of problems before they even come up [more]

Medical Marijuana - More Questions than Answers

A lack of medical consensus makes drug plan coverage of medical marijuana very difficult [more]

Pharmacogenomics Means Better Prescriptions

A simple DNA test can now help pinpoint which drugs are going to work best for you [more]

Why Airplanes Crash

What one successful CEO learned from air crash investigations – and how it all applies to managing any organization [more]

Not A Delicate Subject Anymore...

How to start the conversation about mental health in the workplace [more]

A Look Inside

There's more to this business that we usually talk about... [more]

Bio What-Now?

Get ready for "generic" biologics. [more]

What You Don't Want to Say to Your Doctor

There are some things that you want to explain to your doctor, and some things you really should stay away from. [more]

Your Dentist's Pet Peeve

Why you should know all the ins and outs of your dental insurance plan before you ever lean back in the chair and open wide [more]

About that Credit Card Travel Insurance

It may be of some value, especially if you have no pre-existing conditions, but you really need to read that fine print [more]

Right Drug, Right Time, Right Cost

Why you should work with your doctor, your pharmacist, and your drug plan to make sure you get optimal treatmenty [more]

Big Smiles

A focus on dental plans will ensure that everyone remains happy [more]

Your Doctor Doesn't Know Everything

When it comes to prescriptions, patients need to be part of the conversation [more]

Prescription for Disaster

Advances in pharmaceuticals are threatening your drug plan [more]

Sleep Easy

Conditions like sleep apnea can be treated, ensuring proper rest and productive days [more]

Easy as EAP

Formal support makes a big difference when employees face personal challenges [more]

Well Done

10 ways to develop an effective workplace wellness program [more]

Mind Matters

Businesses can't afford to ignore the mental health of their employees [more]

Brian's Story

Brian Callery is celebrating 40 years in our business. It's a commitment that makes a difference in his clients' businesses [more]

The Benefits to You

The same plans designed to protect employees will also offer advantages to employers [more]

Lawyer Up

There are legal ramifications around changing benefit plans - especially if an employee is being terminated [more]

Travel Trauma

Dream vacations can turn into nightmares when travel insurance claims are denied [more]

Evolution Solution

Evolving benefit plans will meet employee needs and support recruiting and retention efforts [more]

Plan & Predict

How rising paramedical claims, drug reforms, and other trends will affect your workplace benefits [more]

Who Benefits

Education makes the case for workplace benefit plans [more]

Season of Renewal

Important questions to ask your benefits advisor before inking a deal [more]

Preventive Measures

Paramedical services help keep employees healthy, on the job, and productive [more]

A Bounce in Their Step

Canada Rubber Group employees are embracing their new wellness program [more]

Business Benefits

Shandex Group and Indaco Manufacturing discuss the value of evolving employee benefits plans [more]

A New Mindset

Workplaces can't afford to ignore the mental health of employees [more]

Cost Cutters

10 cost-cutting strategies to protect your benefits plan [more]

Safe Travels

12 ways to protect yourself on your next vacation [more]

Breaking News

Learn from the mistakes of an AOL executive when discussing any changes to your benefits plans [more]

Watch the Gaps

Protect against turnover and lost opportunities by recognizing the generation gaps [more]

Generation Next

Generation Y represents the future of your business - and will see workplace benefits plans in a different way [more]

Absent Minded

Employers are paying the price for absenteeism, but it can be controlled [more]

Think Positive

Programs that build positive workplaces make business sense [more]

Back to School

8 important lessons your employees need to learn about benefits plans [more]

Find a Better Broker

6 questions you should ask anyone who wants to sell you a benefits plan [more]

Plan Your ROI

5 ways employee benefits plans can deliver a real Return on Investment [more]

The Benefit of Benefits

3 ways a benefits plan can improve your company's bottom line. [more]

A Healthy Dose of Information

5 questions for your pharmacist that might save your drug plan and your wallet. [more]

Claim Denied

Consider these 8 ways to avoid rejected benefit claims. [more]

Travel Planning

6 questions to ask before assuming you are protected by a group plan's travel insurance. [more]

Biologic Logic

Growing list of biologic drugs could bankrupt poorly protected drug plans. [more]

Smart Shopping

8 shopping habits that will protect your benefits plan. [more]

Tough Medicine

Employees will share more responsibilities and higher costs to sustain their benefits. [more]

Crime Costs

5 scams that could be placing your benefits plan at risk. [more]

A Prescription for Your Drug Plan

Skyrocketing drug prices may be threatening your benefits plan, but generic drugs offer a cure. [more]

Planes, Trains and Travel Insurance

The fine print in your travel insurance may leave you more exposed than you think. [more]

Healthy and Wealthy

5 steps to an employee wellness program that will generate real financial returns. [more]

Avoiding Burnout During Holiday Season

Education and Prevention can help control spiraling benefit costs. [more]

Sweat the Small Stuff

Protect your staff by avoiding these common "paperwork" mistakes by administrators. [more]



Services Personal Services Corporate Services