I have been in the financial services industry for thirteen years, working as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. My experience spans the world of comprehensive financial planning and working with thousands of 401(k) participants to plan for a better future. Throughout my work at firms like Lincoln Financial Group, UBS, Nationwide, and now 401GO, my key focus has always been financial planning and wellness.
We all know that financial planning drives better financial outcomes. Access to planning tools and professionals that provide top-notch advice can change the future of our clients and 401(k) plan participants. At 401GO, we believe that everyone should have access to a suite of financial wellness tools to help improve their financial future. That’s why we created 401Goals—a powerful set of financial wellness resources embedded in our platform, designed to support retirement planning, education, budgeting, and more. These tools are available to all employees of the plans on our platform, whether they actively participate in their employer-sponsored plan or not.
Why Financial Wellness Matters
Financial wellness tools go beyond basic retirement calculators—they provide actionable guidance that empowers employees to make smarter financial decisions. When participants have access to educational resources, budgeting tools, and interactive financial tools, they gain a clearer understanding of their financial future and feel more confident about saving for retirement.
According to a recent survey from DCIIA, the top action item people were most willing to take to improve their financial wellness was creating and following a financial plan. This illustrates how much participants value guidance—when given access to user friendly financial planning tools, they are more likely to take control of their long-term financial security.
The Advisor’s Role: Leveraging Financial Wellness Tools
As an advisor, you can use these tools to boost plan engagement and improve outcomes for participants. Financial wellness resources help:
- Drive Higher Participation Rates: When participants feel more informed, they are more likely to enroll in a 401(k) plan and start saving.
- Encourage Increased Contributions: When employees can see the impact compound interest has on their contributions, they are more willing to increase their deferral rate over time.
- Identify Consolidation Opportunities: Financial planning tools can uncover potential rollover opportunities, helping participants bring together retirement assets for a more cohesive strategy, allowing them to more easily manage their savings.
- Start a Holistic Conversation About Finances: By taking advantage of these tools as an advisor, you can expand the conversation beyond retirement savings to help participants optimize their financial future.
At 401GO, we also give participants the option to grant access to their accounts to their advisor, enabling you to create retirement plans, adjust contributions, and make important changes on their behalf. This level of engagement strengthens the advisor-client relationship and provides real-time financial planning.
Financial advisors have an opportunity to leverage these tools to make retirement planning more engaging, interactive, and effective, further highlighting the value they bring to the table as the trusted advisor of the 401(k) plan.
