Employee Benefit, ERISA - LFE Institute

	Employee Benefit News: National Trends Trigger More Financial Education As employees struggle to make ends meet during this tight economy, more employers are offering unbiased Money Coaching and interactive workshops as an Employee Benefit. These services not only help reduce the high cost of Presenteeism, worker slow-downs, and minimize liabilities, but Workplace Financial Literacy is one of the most employee-friendly Benefits companies can offer. Here are just a few of the current economic trends motivating more employers to sponsor these low-cost Employee Benefits:
			Consumer Federation of America – July 2012 More Americans are struggling today to make ends meet than in 1997.
			Federal Reserve – July 2012 The biggest group with student loan defaults are those in the 40–49 age group.
			U.S. Department of Agriculture – June 2012 It costs about $234,900 to raise a child to the age of 17.
			Transamerica Retirement Survey – June 2012 88% of U.S. workers have no written retirement strategy.
			Federal Reserve – June 2012 Americans lost 39% of their net worth over the past 3 years!
			American Institute of Stress – May 2012 Workplace stress costs U.S. employers more than $920 billion annually.
			Financial Literacy Center – April 2012 80% of terminated employees default on Plan loans.
			AICPA Survey – April 2012 41% of Americans identified basic living expenses—gas, medical expenses, and lack of savings—as their top financial concern.
			NFCC - April 2012 77 million Americans do not pay their bills on time.
			GasBuddy.com – April 2012 Gas prices have increased by 240% since December ’08.
			LIMRA – April 2012 56% of workers report their total savings and investments are less than $25,000.
			Wall Street Journal Report – April 2012 Americans are swindled out of $1 billion annually.
			2012 EBRI Study – March 2012 Only 14% of adults (an all-time low) are confident they’ll have enough money to retire.
			Merrill Lynch Survey - Feb 2012 59 percent of employers reported an increased sense of responsibility to help employees meet their financial goals.
			New American Foundation - Feb 2012 American adults are participating in their retirement plan at work at the lowest level in more than 30 years.
			Federal Reserve - January 2012 There is a $6.6 trillion “gap” between what retirees have and what they’ll need during retirement
			SHRM Survey - January 2012 83% of employers state employee personal financial challenges had some or a large impact on employee job performance
			SHRM Survey - January 2012 Biggest financial challenge for most employees is lack of funds to cover personal expenses.
			Federal Reserve - January 2012 Americans dug a deeper debt hole by $20 Billion in one month
			USA Today – Dec 2011 Credit card companies mailed 1.3 Billion new offers to consumers last quarter
			Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies – September 2011 More than one-third of employees expect to work past age 70 or never retire, with more than 52% stating the reason is they don’t have enough saved or will need more spending money.
			Congressional Budget Office –September 2011 14 Million Americans are still unemployed, with another 8.8 million living on part-time incomes.
			OSHA – August 2011 There were 506 cases of workplace homicide last year, with the number involving women up 13%.
			Bankrate.com – August 2011 Even with home mortgage interest rates at near-record lows, home values are at 2003 levels, causing increased financial stress for employees.
			9th Annual MetLife Study – July 2011 There is compelling evidence that “financial illness” contributes to [higher] health care costs and reduced productivity. The quality of employee benefits is a major indicator of loyalty.
			Financial Advisor Magazine – July 2011 The average cost to defend a fiduciary claim is $364,000, with individual settlements averaging $994,000.
			Birmingham News – July 2011 Employee fear of foreclosures, overdrawn bank accounts, rising utility, childcare, and education expenses, with little to no raises over the past two to three years, increases the high cost of presenteeism for employers.
			Aon Hewitt – July 2011 Only 75.8% of eligible employees participated in their company’s defined contribution retirement plan last year.
			Federal Reserve – June 2011 Consumer borrowing is up for the 7th straight month.
			US Senate – May 2011 The gap between what Americans will need in retirement and what they will actually have saved is estimated to be a staggering 6.6 trillion dollars.