Integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into your financial wellness programs

Yes, I am that weirdo that watches the same documentaries or reads the same books again and again, in search of any wisdom I may have missed the first or second time around. One of those documentaries that remains in rotation is The Pieces I Am, about the late literary scholar Toni Morrison. She was not only a great writer and the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, she was also an expert editor and publisher for other talented writers. Over the course of her life — in her writing, editing, publishing and in the way she lived — she always questioned perspective: Who is speaking? Who is hearing? Who is seeing? Who is being seen?

In typical documentary- nerd fashion, I thought about Morrison a few weeks ago while giving a talk on financial wellness. A plan sponsor asked, “What advice would you give to plan sponsors who are new to thinking through and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion in their retirement programs?” I replied, “Focus on perspective.” Here is what I meant by that:

Diversify. One of the great benefits of diversity is that it offers multiple lenses through which to see, understand, and communicate. For plan sponsors, diversifying your perspective extends your reach and increases your ability to impact the lives of your participants and their families in meaningful ways.

The key to diversifying your perspective is diversifying your teams, your consultants, and your vendors.  We see the world from our own lens of race, gender, identity, and life experiences. Make efforts to ensure those designing and communicating your retirement plans and programs reflect your participant populations — or the diversity you would like to see in your participant populations.

Seek to understand. Review data to understand how the retirement plan and associated wellness programs are utilized. Understand:

• Who is contributing?
• Who is receiving the full match?
• Who is only participating because of automatic enrollment?

Dig deeper. High participation and contribution rates may not tell the full story. As such, dig deeper to understand:

• Who is taking distributions and why?
• Who is taking plan loans and why?

Ask questions. Talk to your participants, and remember to seek diverse voices, so all voices are included and heard. Surveys are a great way to start the conversation. Ask:

• What is working?
• How can we improve?

Evaluate plan and program design. With quantitative and qualitative data in hand, review your retirement plan and financial wellness programs to evaluate whether:

• Your plan design creates a disparate impact.
• Your contribution structure is unclear or overly complicated.
• Your plan is penalizing those already in need.

Evaluate communications. Update your communications to make sure that they are inclusive. Your communications should:

• Speak to the needs of your participant population.
• Not make assumptions about your participant population.

DE&I is an integral part of any successful financial wellness program and pays dividends for plan sponsors and participants. Not only are you better able to understand and meet the diverse needs and goals of participants, you also get the full bang for your buck from your retirement plan and your wellness resources. With the right wellness and benefits consultants, it is very possible to set clear goals and efficiently bridge the gap between benefits and DE&I.

Uche Enemchukwu is a benefits attorney and strategy consultant at Nelu Diversified Consulting Solutions. She has in-depth experience advising Fortune 100 employers as well as small and mid-sized employers on compliance with the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA, PPACA, HIPAA, COBRA and various other laws relating to employee benefit plans. She began her career as an associate attorney at a large law firm with a well-regarded and sophisticated human capital and benefits practice, then transitioned to consulting at Willis Towers Watson, where she drove benefits compliance and strategy results for large, global employers. She now manages compliance for the largest 401(k) plan and the largest pension trust in existence. Uche is a SHRM “highly-rated” speaker and is active in the American Benefits Council and the American Bar Association. She received her J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and an LL.M. in Taxation from the same institution. She received her B.A. in History and Comparative Area Studies from Duke University.