Employee intel that offers a boost to finance initiatives

From Direct Deposit to your 401(k) to cafeteria plans, there are tons of Finance programs that depend on employee participation to be successful. Some new research on employee attitudes toward money just may be your ticket to getting more of it across the board.

No question money is on the minds of more Americans during this prolonged economic rough patch.

The AICPA surveyed people to see where their heads are at when it comes to their finances at the moment.

Offer them solutions

Take a look at the results and how Finance can use them to generate more participation in Finance offerings.

Insight #1: 41% of people said basic living expenses, including the cost of gas, uninsured medical expenses and lack of emergency savings are their top financial concern.

Use that data to help you:  Boost participation in Direct Deposit and your cafeteria plans. If you allow people to split their direct deposits, make sure you really emphasize this. Many folks who do split their deposits use it for an emergency savings fund. Splitting the deposit will build in the discipline to make sure that cushion gets built.

And even if insurance doesn’t cover some medical expenses, employees can pay for many of them with pre-tax dollars through a cafeteria plan or flex-spending account. Be sure to provide employees with a list of everything that can be reimbursed that way – it’s likely more than they realize.

Insight #2: 27% of people say their main concerns are related to long-term goals, such as paying for education or saving for retirement.

Use that data to help you: Boost participation in your retirement plan and Direct Deposit. If ever there was a case for automatic escalation, this is it. Let employees see – with specific examples — just how much they can save by increasing their 401(k) contributions regularly. (Of course, automatic enrollment gets the ball rolling.) And it’s yet another case for split Direct Deposits: Many folks use the extra money they save with the split deposit to put money away for children’s college educations.

It’s a true win-win: You help employees with their concerns, and your Finance initiatives see a participation boost.