Benefits roundup: New financial wellness, fintech and insurance solutions

With a tight labor market, many employers are looking at offering more, not less, when it comes to benefits.  And with so many workers stressed about their finances, they’re increasingly looking to employers to roll out more resources to not only help with everyday expenses and saving for retirement but for their overall financial well-being as well.

Here are some solutions that might support employee needs, particularly during periods of extreme market volatility. After all, when financial needs are met, employees are empowered to be more productive.

Purchasing Power, a voluntary benefits company, has introduced an enhanced set of financial wellness services designed to provide its clients’ employees with even greater financial support. These services enable employees access to timely financial wellness benefits made possible by strategic partnerships:

• Access to financial health resources: Made available from Chicago-based social impact fintech company SpringFour, this service enables employees to find vetted, local nonprofit resources that can help them address more immediate financial challenges including childcare services, utility costs, and food savings.
• Live financial counseling and coaching: Powered by Working Credit NFP, a national nonprofit, the program is designed to help employees receive personalized advice to improve and build their credit. Counselors work with employees one-on-one by Zoom to help them create a personalized Credit Action Plan to help them not only build and maintain a strong credit score but support them in meeting their holistic financial goals.

Breeze, the leading online disability insurance company, recently announced the launch of Leave by Breeze, a paid parental leave insurance solution for employers to support employees who need to take time away from work to care for what matters most – their families. The addition enhances Breeze’s turnkey online platform, which already includes short-term disability insurance, two types of long-term disability insurance, and critical illness insurance.  Leave by Breeze also brings access to the employer market and empowers the Omaha-based insurtech’s ability to offer income protection coverage for maternity or paternity leave stemming from childbirth, adoption, or foster parenting.

BrightPlan, a leader in total financial wellness, has announced its new Equity Compensation Planner, available as part of the company’s Total Financial Wellness solution. The new robust global capability gives employees the digital tools and professional financial guidance needed so they can view and manage their employer-provided equity compensation. This enables employers to better retain and engage top talent by demonstrating the value of equity compensation, a key component of an employee’s total rewards package.

Voya Financial, Inc. has announced the launch of myVoyage, a new and first-of-its-kind personalized financial-guidance and connected workplace-benefits digital platform. Offering a “one stop” solution, myVoyage will provide individuals with a complete view of their financial picture, inclusive of workplace benefits and savings accounts along with the integration of external accounts such as personal banking and credit accounts to help better manage one’s health and financial well-being. First launching via mobile app, Voya’s myVoyage digital platform will offer a consolidated view to provide personalized guidance to help employees make progress toward achieving their financial goals.

Sequoia, a pioneer in total people investment, has announced that it is partnering with Origin, the comprehensive employee financial wellness platform, to include financial wellness as part of Sequoia’s service to all clients and their employees. With this benefit, employees can access Origin’s modern platform, making money matters simple by helping them manage their compensation, benefits, and personal finance—side by side with assigned financial professionals.

In response to President Biden’s plan to eliminate up to $20,000 of student loan debt, Fintech startup Summer recently launched Forgiveness Eligibility Check, the first new digital tool for student loan borrowers to check their forgiveness eligibility in real-time. Summer is helping employers appeal to new grads, and millennial/Gen Z employees struggling with student debt. Summer’s solution is a way for employers to “do well by doing good.”

Financial Finesse, the country’s leading independent provider of financial wellness coaching as an employer-paid benefit, recently launched Financial Finesse Ventures — a first-of-its-kind venture capital arm for socially responsible fintech. With the escalation in services that place profit above purpose, Financial Finesse Ventures was created to reverse this trend and spark a wave of investment in innovation for good. The new venture arm will seek investments in purpose-driven companies dedicated to driving positive social impact.