Morneau Shepell, under its Shepell•fgi employee assistance program (EAP), has introduced a new online service to help employees address their financial concerns. The service allows users to create financial action plans tailored to their personal situation.
According to a report released by Morneau Shepell in 2010, 63.2% of the time that users accessed their EAP for financial assistance, it was for personal debt and/or credit issues. This was followed by divorce/finances (8.7%), bankruptcy (7.4%), retirement (5.7%) and taxes (4.6%). Significantly less were requests for investment planning purposes, indicating that employees were too concerned with current debt to plan for their future.
“What is needed,” explained Kevin Sorhaitz, partner, pension consulting, with Morneau Shepell, “is to combine debt counselling with investment education, so that employees have a better understanding of how current debt is connected to future retirement.”
The service provides users with educational information and resources on credit/debt management, budgeting, bankruptcy, the financial aspects of separation/divorce, financial emergencies, retirement planning, employment transitions and real estate. Users can access interactive worksheets and tools online, such as a personal debt consolidator tool and a retirement savings calculator.
“It’s no surprise that debt causes great anxiety and stress for people,” said Rita Fridella, senior vice-president, operations, and chief clinician with Morneau Shepell. “It’s important to treat not only the cause but also the effects. Take, for instance, someone who is recently divorced with children. We can help them regain a solid financial standing while lessening the stress of dealing with the divorce and new obligations like finding childcare. This integrated approach means we can guide employees to the professionals and full continuum of care that they need.”
The Online Financial Planning Service is available to Shepell•fgi EAP members and their families at workhealthlife.com.