Do you wish your younger employees grasped how vital it is to wisely manage their finances? If they grasp the importance, do they know what steps to take? A small step in the right direction someone takes in their 20s can lead to a giant payoff by their 60s or 70s. A small error, left unchecked, can cause unfortunate consequences that dog them for decades.
To celebrate Financial Literacy Month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is offering a free webcast called “Get Financially Fit Early in Your Career – Important Information for Workers Starting Out.” The webcast will be offered live on Tuesday, April 28, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. After that, it will be available on demand on the DOLs Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) website. To find it, scroll down on the first page of the website to the section called “Participant Assistance Workshops and Webcasts.”
Make sure the salary and benefits your company provides are understood and used to their full potential. Encourage all workers, but especially workers in their 20s and 30s, to attend this webcast, which presents tools for:
- Making the most of employment-based retirement and health benefits
- Budgeting
- Saving for short- and long-term goals
- Managing credit and debt
- Student loan borrowing and repayment.
Consider setting aside a room and a time for a group screening and providing popcorn! Free popcorn, unfortunately, may be more tantalizing than a 401(k) company match. Popcorn may be more immediately satisfying, but its returns are not lasting and don’t multiply. Help your employees understand the incredible power they have over their financial futures. Help them wield it wisely.
Check out the International Foundations Retirement Planning/Financial Security site for more resources including tips and worksheets for workers more than 15 years from retirement.
Lois Mathis-Gleason, CEBS
Senior Information/Research Specialist at the International Foundation
