Financial wellness is firmly established as a key benefit that employees value. With the fourth quarter and open enrollment period fast approaching, employers must shift their focus toward elevating their workforce's financial literacy to help them maximize the benefit, especially when it comes to 401(k)s.

Recently, several federal acts and updates have simplified long-term savings initiatives and retirement programs for Americans. These changes aim to make 401(k) plans more accessible, flexible and effective in helping Americans save for retirement. That said, employers have an important role to play in helping their employees maximize the benefit of financial wellness, which impacts individual employee performance and the business's bottom line. 

Employers and plan sponsors should set their sights on transforming their 401(k) benefits offerings from a burdensome requirement for HR to oversee into a key workplace differentiator that attracts and retains top talent. Like long-term investments, success doesn't happen overnight, but an immediate shift in perspective to providing more education, transparency, and accountability on plan offerings, from the top down, will set this transformation in motion.