Lincoln Financial Group Expands Financial Wellness Resources

RADNOR, Pa. (BUSINESS WIRE), February 18, 2021 - COVID-19 has altered almost every aspect of daily life, yet a positive trend has emerged: Americans are more actively engaged in their finances. Research from Lincoln Financial Group (NYSE:LNC) shows that 79% of full-time employed U.S. adults say COVID-19 has changed the way they think about planning for their financial future, and 93% say that the pandemic has motivated them to take one or more specific actions to improve their finances.¹

With this increased emphasis on financial wellness, Lincoln Financial is offering Lincoln WellnessPATH® to its Group Benefits customers, enabling employers to more easily provide their employees the tools they need to manage their money and safeguard their finances. This impactful tool is now available to Lincoln Financial’s Group Benefits employer clients and is an expansion of the service currently available to Retirement Plan Services’ plan sponsor clients.

“We know that employees across the U.S. are more focused than ever on their finances, but they need help navigating the challenges they are facing,” said Jamie Ohl, executive vice president, president, Workplace Solutions, head of Life and Annuity Operations, Lincoln Financial Group. “By partnering with employers to offer personalized financial wellness tools, together we can help more Americans take charge of their financial futures.”

Nearly two-thirds of full-time employed U.S. adults say it is important for employers to offer financial wellness programs,² and nearly a quarter report that they look to their employers more often for benefits information, as compared to before COVID-19.³ And for employers, financial worries can lead to decreased engagement and lower productivity, with 39% of employees saying money concerns keep them from doing their best at work.⁴ As a result, financial wellness solutions are no longer a “nice-to-have” option, but an essential need for America’s workforce.

Saving, Spending, Debt and Protection: How Lincoln WellnessPATH® can help

Lincoln WellnessPATH is an online tool featuring personalized, actionable steps to help employees set financial goals and learn tips and tricks for better money management. Within the tool, individuals take a brief quiz and are then given a personalized financial wellness score that is divided into four categories: spending, protection, debt and saving. Lincoln WellnessPATH then helps users set and track progress toward their short- and long-term goals through:

• To-do lists for the short term
• Personalized goals for the long term
• Resources and a library of educational articles

These simple steps can help manage financial stress, which has a significant impact on employees and employers. More than half of U.S. adults (51%) say financial stress has negatively impacted their personal health and/or performance at work,⁵ and a quarter (26%) of those who’ve seen an impact at work say they have trouble reaching their goals at work because of concerns about money.⁶

“Our Workplace Solutions Group is committed to helping drive positive outcomes for employers, employees and their families,” said Ohl. “Not only will this new financial wellness solution help employees better understand their options, protect their finances today and secure their tomorrow, it can also lead to a more engaged and better prepared workforce.”