Financial

What Is Financial Wellness? According to Everyday Health’s United States of Stress survey, finances are the most common source of stress among men and women. Managing that stress can have real benefits for a person’s health. Many U.S. companies realize that personal finances and health are often closely linked. Nine out of 10 large and mid-sized companies now offer financial wellness programs, and another 10 percent are considering adding them, according to a press release published in May 2018 by the National Business Group on Health (NBGH). Employers believe these programs can boost employees’ productivity, engagement, and health. Read.

Resources

Cooper employees have access to financial management programs through Fidelity Brokerage Services.

    • Fidelity Investments – Cooper University Health Care sponsors a 403(b) Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) Plan that allows you to save for your retirement by making pre-tax contributions for the purchase of a tax sheltered annuity or custodial mutual fund shares under section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. Your contributions to the plan are not taxed until you withdraw the funds from the plan (usually at retirement when your tax bracket may be lower). To learn more about the ways Cooper and Fidelity can work with you toward Financial Wellness, visit https://www.fidelity.com/.

Articles

    • Fidelity’s Financial Wellness Score Goes Beyond the Numbers, Emotions Also Play A Key Role – Many employers realize their employees are struggling financially and need help beyond retirement, with 51 percent of people saying they are just breaking even or spending more than they earn each month. As a result, 98 percent of Fidelity’s workplace clients have adopted its Financial Wellness solution, which helps employees focus on their day-to-day financial status and prioritize the steps needed to improve their situation. Read.
    • How to Effectively Manage Your Economic Life – According to Tom Rath and Jim Harter – leaders in workplace wellbeing research at Gallup – financial wellness is “effectively managing your economic life.” This simple concept encompasses many factors, including: Keeping spending within one’s means being financially prepared for emergencies, having access to the information and tool necessary to make good financial decisions, ‍having a plan for the future, and more. Read.

Videos

    • How To Reach Financial Wellness – In this video, Morra Aarons-Mele, former contributor to ForbesWomen, discusses the variety of ways in which one can achieve financial well. She suggests that “All financial behavior has meaning. So the places where we get stuck and make mistakes–we can think of them as a jumping off point for how we think about and use money. There’s information in there. And when we’re talking to about this with someone who’s neutral, or we’re able to be neutral with ourselves, we can see constructively what’s going off track and work with that,as opposed to turning that into something that’s directed at the self and saying we’re bad.” Watch.
    • TED Talk: Elizabeth White’s Honest Look at the Personal Finance Crisis – Millions of baby boomers are moving into their senior years with empty pockets and declining choices to earn a living. And right behind them is a younger generation facing the same challenges. In this deeply personal talk, author Elizabeth White opens up an honest conversation about financial trouble and offers practical advice for how to live a richly textured life on a limited income. Watch