Recap: Financial Planning to Support Employee Well-being

On Thursday, July 11, Wellness Works hosted an exclusive Employer Forum to empower businesses to foster a culture of personal and financial health within their workplaces, regardless of an employee’s financial, health, or life stage. Attendees gained valuable insight from industry leaders, Courtney Boehm, Financial Education Manager at Michigan State University Federal Credit Union; Danyetta Gray, Senior Benefits Manager at Carhartt; and Terry Rush, Director of Senior Health Services, Regional Sales, and Retention at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. 

 

Coverage for Aging Americans 

By 2030, one in five Americans will be over the age of 65, about 20% of the population but today, Americans continue to turn 65 at record numbers. According to data from the Social Security Administration, 4.1 million Americans are on pace to turn 65 years old this year, averaging 11,200 people per day. Because of this, it is important to keep in mind the options available to retirement-age Americans when it comes to their health care costs. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has customizable Medicare programs for employers to use for their aging group members. 

To qualify for Medicare: 

    • You are 65 or older. 
    • You have a long-term disability and have been on Social Security for more than two years. 
    • You have end-stage renal disease. 
    • You have Lou Gehrig’s disease. 

Once your eligibility is determined, you can pick and choose the parts of coverage you want to enroll in.  

 

You can delay enrollment if you have health insurance from your job by working with a benefits manager. However, it is imperative to realize that if you have a spouse or dependent on a job-based plan, dropping it will no longer provide them coverage. It must be an individual policy. 

Learn more about how to transition from job-based health insurance to Medicare here. 

How Do I Share This With My Employees? 

    • Educate them on the basics of Medicare. 
    • Plan recommendations.  

Normalizing the Discussion 

Financial wellness is an important aspect of employee wellness. However, finance discussion in the workplace is still very taboo. To set your employees up for success, difficult conversations need to be had. During the panel discussion, the experts reinforced that when it came to insurance and financial literacy, many employees do not know where to start. Some learn from their parents, on their own, or in some workplaces. Gray discussed that at Carhartt, their internal strategies have kept retention up, lowered absenteeism, and have boosted employee confidence. It starts with the employers. A strong work culture requires attention to all types of wellness. Regardless of life stage, all employees have a future and a responsibility to prepare for it. As an employer, be the person to positively impacts your employees. 

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