Alleviating financial stress and increasing productivity

According to a PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey, 60% of employees say personal finances are the top cause of stress — more than job, health, and relationship stress. Employees who report being financially stressed are nearly five times as likely to admit their finances have been a distraction at work and are likely to be attracted to another company that cares more about their financial well-being.

“If your finances are a major source of stress, you’re going to be distracted and less productive at work, and we want to be able to solve that for our employers,” says Hansen. “A robust financial wellness program improves employee engagement and fosters loyalty, while also providing an opportunity for employers to leverage these added benefits to create an employer of choice status.” 

Employers can empower employees to manage their finances better through access to specialized banking products, such as second checking accounts and savings plans. Accounts can be customized to assist employees with budgeting, saving for emergencies, first-time homebuying, and achieving long-term financial goals like retirement and estate planning. This tailored approach instills confidence and significantly reduces financial stress — offering employees a tangible sense of security.

By lowering employee stress and improving overall health, financial wellness programs can decrease healthcare costs and reduce absenteeism. Healthier, more financially secure employees are less likely to take sick days and more likely to stay with the company long-term, reducing turnover and the associated costs of recruiting and training new staff.

HSAs are another key component of financial wellness programs. A powerful tool for employees to manage healthcare costs while building a tax-advantaged savings account, contributions to HSAs are made pre-tax, reducing the employee's taxable income. Neither the employer nor the employee pays FICA or payroll tax on contributions to the account — a unique difference between HSA and 401k contributions. Funds roll over from year to year and can even be used toward long-term financial goals such as retirement.  

HSAs can also lead to cost savings for employers by promoting consumer-driven healthcare choices. When employees use HSA funds for medical expenses, they are more likely to make cost-conscious decisions about their healthcare, which can lower the company's overall healthcare costs.

A relationship-driven financial wellness benefit from Wintrust

Wintrust is committed to supporting financial wellness for communities through two branded programs — Wintrust @ Work and Workplace Solutions. These programs provide employers and their employees with essential financial and healthcare-related education and benefits, ensuring a holistic approach to wellness. 

A better way to manage employee benefits

Workplace Solutions is a comprehensive suite of customizable wellness offerings designed to streamline employee health benefits for both employers and employees. This bundled package includes:

• Health Savings Account (HSA): A tax-advantaged account for medical expenses, helping employees manage their healthcare costs more effectively.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA): A pre-tax account for eligible healthcare and dependent care expenses, providing financial relief to employees.
• Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA): Employer-funded arrangements that reimburse employees for out-of-pocket medical expenses.
• Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA): Employer-funded accounts that provide reimbursement for a variety of expenses, such as gym memberships, work-from-home expenses, mental health services, and more.
• Commuter and Dependent Care Services: Accounts that offer tax savings for transportation and dependent care, helping employees manage essential life expenses.

Wintrust’s bundled solutions streamline both the HR team’s process and the employee’s user experience. “HR teams don’t want to go to three different providers for three different accounts; they want one provider who can bundle it — making life easier for the employer and their employees. They get one website, one number to call for expert advice, and one debit card that we can stack all the products on,” explains Mark Siebold, Senior Vice President, Head of Workplace Solutions for Wintrust Financial Corporation. “There’s technology in place that allows for a consumer to pay for, say, reading glasses and the card is smart enough to know the funds should be taken from the ‘use it or lose it’ FSA, and not the HSA, where funds can be saved and invested indefinitely.”

Assisting in navigating healthcare options can make a world of difference for employees. According to a 2023 MetLife survey, nearly one-half of employees say there are elements of their benefits package they don’t fully understand. This results in approximately $3 billion in FSA funds forfeited from accounts each year, according to an analysis from the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI).

Wintrust provides employers with an account manager dedicated specifically to their business for a one-on-one relationship, regardless of a company’s size. There’s also a call center for immediate assistance where customers won’t be bounced around but instead connected with an expert on the other line who truly knows the products.

“This is a relationship business, this is a people-to-people business. What really sets us apart is our service delivery,” says Siebold. “Every customer is assigned a dedicated Relationship Manager who will help the employer design a custom benefits package and assist with employee education.”  

A boost to employee benefits without the boost to employer budgets

Wintrust @ Work offers employers the opportunity to go above and beyond industry-standard benefits with a fully customizable program that provides a suite of financial solutions at no cost to the employer. This suite of solutions includes checking and savings account bonuses, access to loan discounts and CD specials, as well as a financial education program based on the FDIC’s Money Smart curriculum.

Employers can pick and choose the instructor-led modules that they feel will help their employees the most and Wintrust takes care of the rest — scheduling both onsite and virtual courses conducted by financial experts. Wintrust @Work can integrate into an employer’s already existing plan or be approached as a bundled solution — allowing for complete customization and a true relationship model.

Employees are not only offered financial education classes but access to financial advisors who can work through their unique financial situations. “When we say we bring the bank to the workplace, we’re not just bringing the account, we will also bring financial experts,” says Hansen. “We’ll offer employees one-on-one time to sit down with a mortgage officer, we’ll offer them appointments, and bring in a financial advisor and a wealth strategist to have appointments onsite at their place of work.”

Employers who bring their employee health benefits to Wintrust support their employees' financial wellness while building a more engaged, productive, and financially secure workforce. Investing in employee financial wellness is not just a caring choice — it's a smart business decision that benefits everyone involved. 

“We want to continue to grow the right way — in a way that’s going to support our customers and our communities,” says Hansen. We believe financial well-being is an essential aspect of providing that support.”

Using and offering benefits should feel effortless. Show your employees their financial well-being is a top priority, build custom plans, and streamline internal processes. 

Disclosures:

Banking products provided by Wintrust Financial Corp. banks.

Wintrust Workplace Solutions is a division of Wintrust Bank, N.A

The FSA, HRA, DCFSA, and Commuter plans are offered through Wintrust Workplace Solutions. The plans are administered on behalf of the Plan Sponsor by First Dollar, Inc Employer-sponsored plans are not individually owned and amounts available under the employer-sponsored plan are not FDIC insured.

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