Promoting employee wellness is an essential initiative for employers that want to build and nurture high-performing teams. But employee wellness isn’t just physical like health, vision and dental – part of that equation is financial wellness. One of the best ways to help promote financial wellness for your employees is by providing a 401(k) plan. After healthcare, 401(k)s are considered the most valuable benefit to recruit and retain employees, according to Jobvite’s Recruiter Nation Survey.

Here’s how providing a 401(k) plan can help your business and its people – and why bundling it with other employee benefits can make your life easier:

How a 401(k) plan helps you stand out

By offering a 401(k) plan you validate that you are invested in both the long-term of your company and your employees and this demonstrates a level of seriousness and commitment on you as the employer.

Currently, 95% of millennials aren’t saving enough for retirement, and 66% don’t have any retirement savings at all, according to a report by the National Institute on Retirement Security. It’s no surprise, then, that 76% of millennials say that retirement benefits offered by a prospective employer are a major factor in their decision on whether to accept a future job offer, according to Transamerica.

Here’s what a great 401(k) plan can do for your business:

  • Boost recruitment and retention: A Capital One survey found that 94% of employers indicated that offering a 401(k) plan helps drive recruitment and retention. Having a 401(k) plan shows prospective and existing employees that you care about your employees’ financial well-being and want to invest in their future – beyond their time spent working at your company.
  • Give you a competitive advantage: The quality of your 401(k) plan can serve as an opportunity to get a leg up on other companies. By offering valuable options, such as immediate vesting or automated investment advising, your plan could be a tie-breaker for top talent comparing job offers from more than one company.
  • Improve employee productivity: According to a study by the Social Market Foundation, happy employees are up to 20% more productive than unhappy employees. One of the ways to keep your employees happy is to reduce their potential stressors. By providing a 401(k) plan, you can reduce some of the stress that employees might have regarding their finances and future.
  • Take advantage of the tax benefits: All the contributions you make on behalf of your employees are tax-deductible business expenses. What’s more, if it’s your first 401(k) plan, you may qualify for a tax credit worth up to $500 per year over three years to help offset setup and maintenance charges. Also, contributions you and your employees make to a traditional 401(k) plan are deducted before taxes, giving everyone extra savings.

Now SMBs can get an integrated 401(k) through Sequoia

With everything that 401(k)s can offer employers, Human Interest is excited to partner with Sequoia to help SMBs provide their employees with an automated, affordable, and modern 401(k) that is easy to use.

By working with the Sequoia 401(k) Services team, SMBs will have access to an integrated 401(k) which includes online administration, compliance monitoring, access to a dedicated support team, and an integration with the Sequoia Mobile application.

Why bundling your benefits is best

A 401(k) plan is a key element in improving employee wellness, but it’s not the only one. Insurance, physical wellness programs, commuter benefits, discount programs, and other perks are all important components of a holistic benefits package. But offering multiple benefits can get complicated quickly if you’re not careful, especially if you’re working with more than one benefits administrator.

By bundling your 401(k) plan with other benefits via Sequoia, you’ll get a one-stop interface for all of your benefits with the added advantage of being able to access your benefits package on the go in the Sequoia Mobile App. What’s more, having all your benefits under the same umbrella means that you only have one point of contact who understands the full scope of your business’ needs.

They can also help you view how your full benefits package stacks up against other companies in your industry, and provide valuable resources to your employees to help them make better decisions regarding the benefits you offer.

The bottom line

For a company to thrive, it needs people who are happy and engaged. By offering a robust benefits package, including a solid 401(k) plan, both you and your employees will reap the rewards. As you review your benefits package, consider bundling your benefits like your 401(k) under one roof instead of keeping them spread out across multiple administrators.

 

Roger Lee is the CEO and Co-founder of Human Interest. Based in San Francisco, Human Interest helps small businesses all over the country offer 401(k)s to their employees. Roger and his team focus on increasing 401(k) access through a high-quality, affordable solution that lowers the administrative burden for businesses and prioritizes employee experience and education. Roger is a member of the Forbes Finance Council and the Young Entrepreneurs Council. He was formerly a co-founder at Thunder and has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University.