Financial Education for Your Employees

Realize the benefits of workplace financial education. Employee financial education can help your company attract, retain, reward and motivate the right employees to achieve a committed and productive workforce! Financial education can help you maintain a competitive advantage by addressing the work-life issues your employees face everyday. Harold C. Brown & Co., LLC offers employee financial education through corporations and organizations. The proven curricula utilized were developed by The EDSA Group, Inc., an independent financial education company. The series of interactive workshops addresses all personal money management issues including budgeting, cash flow analysis, education planning, retirement planning, estate planning, investments, and company benefits. Employees’ poor financial behaviors can result in substantial costs to the employer in the form of excessive tardiness and absenteeism, utilization of business hours to handle personal financial matters, loss of trained personnel, accidents and increased risk taking, just to name a few. Reduce your risk – provide employee financial education and reap multiple benefits! With over 70 years of experience in the financial industry, Harold C. Brown & Co, LLC has the knowledge to provide expert instruction. Through an affiliation with The EDSA Group, we offer proven financial education curricula. This powerful combination ensures that your employees are taught the skills and provided the tools to manage personal finances and prepare for future goals such as retirement. Financial education can impact your company’s bottom line Some key benefits of providing a comprehensive financial education program to your employees include: Recent research indicates approximately 15% of all workers in the U.S. are currently experiencing stress from poor financial behaviors to the extent that it negatively impacts their productivity on the job. Teaching money management skills to employees can result in a reduction in the time spent worrying about finances in the workplace, which allows for a more focused, safe, and productive employee. In a time of high turnover and company downsizing, providing a financial education program that benefits each participant personally can send a message that your company cares about each employee’s well being. This can equate to increased company loyalty and improved employee retention. The EDSA Group® financial education programs have been proven to increase participation in company-sponsored benefits. By increasing participation levels, employers can benefit from FICA tax savings and the elimination of contribution limits for highly compensated employees. Helping your employees to be financially prepared for retirement helps both you and the employee. A financially secure employee is not likely to be financially dependent upon their employer once they do retire. Additionally, should your company offer early retirement, then those employees who are financially secure will be more likely to accept the proposal. Legislation, such as ERISA 404(c), states that companies should teach their employees how to manage their retirement funds. The EDSA programs may reduce potential liability arising from not providing ample financial education to employees. According to a study conducted by Virginia Tech, there is a statistically significant relationship between financial and physical wellness. In this study, those who attended The EDSA Group® workshops reported a higher self-perceived financial wellness score (fewer financial stresses, better health, etc.). Better employee health can translate into lower healthcare costs to the employer, fewer absences, and more. Financial Wellness Programs Harold C. Brown & Co., LLC utilizes The EDSA Group’s T.E.A.M. Series™ -“Teaching Employees About Money.”   This series of comprehensive and interactive workshops was designed to meet the educational needs of a diverse employee population. THE T.E.A.M. SERIES™ Money Concepts™ is a three-hour workshop designed for individuals who desire to learn the basics of money management. Topics include setting financial goals, managing income and estimating expenses, tax planning, retirement planning, and a review of the sponsoring company benefits. One of the features of the Money Concepts™ program is the Income/Expense group exercise. It teaches the employees how to manage “money in” and “money out.” It reinforces one of the priorities of the program which is Pay Yourself First and teaches employees how to free up money in order to participate in company sponsored benefits such as a 401(k) and Flex Spending accounts. Money Basics™ is a six-hour workshop frequently divided into two, three-hour sessions. In addition to the topics covered in Money Concepts™, this comprehensive program covers all aspects of personal money management including advanced topics such as education planning, estate planning, investments, and determining insurance needs. Upon completion, participants have the tools and knowledge to develop their own financial plan. Retiring Easy™ is a three-hour workshop typically designed for individuals who are nearing (5-15 years until) retirement. Topics include understanding retirement lifestyles, managing retirement income and estimating retirement expenses, retirement investments, and estate planning and insurance management. The Retiring Easy™ program will help the employee determine if they are on course to retire when they plan to, and if not, what they can do to meet their retirement goals. The Magic of 401(k)™ or The Magic of 403(b)™ are two-hour workshops designed to assist individuals in understanding their 401(k)/403(b) plan, determining contribution amounts to the plan and making the investment choices that are appropriate for the participant. Topics include advantages of a 401(k)/403(b) plan, investment choices, and making the 401(k) plan work for them. Participants learn how to do asset allocation within their 401(k)/403(b) plan and use this information to meet specific retirement income goals. This program will help employees determine how much income their 401(k)/403(b) plan will generate upon retirement and if it is inadequate, what options they have to fix it. Program Design The format of the EDSA programs includes educational instruction, class exercises and homework for participants. These elements combined with the professionally designed curriculum and materials enhance the learning process for workshop participants. Additionally, each program can be customized for a company’s special needs and/or specific requests. For more information about launching your financial education training program, please contact DEBORAH A STAURING, CFP®, ChFC HAROLD C. BROWN & CO. LLC ONE HSBC CENTER, STE 3800 BUFFALO, NEW YORK 14203 TEL: 716-854-2500 OR 1-800-825-7498 E-MAIL dstauring@hcb.com