PCS Retirement’s Post

Overall employee financial wellness showed improvement this year. But the wellness and retirement confidence gap between men and women remains problematic.   This is according to Bank of America Institute’s 14th annual Workplace Benefits Report, “The Resurging Workforce.”   The 2024 survey found that 47% of employees rated their financial wellness as “good” or “excellent,” up 5% from last year. However, women expressed significantly lower financial wellness scores than men, indicating that employers need to do more to address pay equity.   According to the report, 53% of men reported good financial wellness, compared to just 36% of women. This may be attributable to women in the U.S. working full-time earning 84 cents for every dollar men earn, according to the Census Bureau. Shockingly, only 44% of employers currently address pay equity, and 28% are considering it in the next 1-2 years.   Read "Financial Wellness Gap Between Men, Women Continues to Widen" https://lnkd.in/euuxCMUR   Contact us for strategies to address the financial wellness gap among your clients: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

PCS Retirement will be attending LNRS 2024: Unfiltered! We’re excited to be a part of the 2024 LeafHouse National Retirement Symposium (LNRS) from October 9-11 in Austin, Texas. This year’s theme is Unfiltered, addressing critical matters with the raw truth. Our CEO, Scott David, will be joining Chandrasekaran Vaidyanathan, Ralph Ferraro, Patrick Duffy, and Allison Dirksen on October 10th to discuss “Efficient Markets vs Moats: Competing Forces in Modern Business Strategy”, moderated by Nevin Adams. This will be an exciting discussion where Scott will have the opportunity to share his insights on selecting the ideal strategy for modernization and digital transformation in the retirement industry, and how leveraging technology has driven meaningful change and innovation at PCS.

In February 2024, J.P. Morgan Chase suffered a data breach that impacted more than nearly half a million plan participants.   Remy Samuels, writing for Plan Sponsor, says that this incident can serve as an opportunity for plan sponsors to 1) reflect on their own cybersecurity practices, and 2) consider what action they would take if they found themselves in a similar situation.   A typical cyber breach involves someone gaining access to participants’ personal information. While the J.P. Morgan incident was not an external cyberattack, Samuels writes that it is important for plan sponsors to understand which systems were impacted by the breach and to determine whether they can isolate those systems and contain the problem.   "Once the problem is contained and steps have been taken to mitigate the breach, a sponsor needs to have a plan for how the organization will communicate the issue with its participant base."   Read "How Should a Plan Sponsor Respond to a Data Breach?" https://lnkd.in/eRNCUf5N   Contact us to learn how we keep your clients’ data secure: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

As a business leader, talking about your failures may not come as naturally as trumpeting your successes. That’s not without reason: failure stings. It puts a dent in our egos, exposes us to criticism, and leaves us feeling vulnerable.   But according to Sanjay Khosla, a senior fellow and adjunct professor at the Kellogg School of Management, having the courage to acknowledge failures—and the humility to learn from them—is essential for top executives to be successful. Revealed through his clients’ biggest professional failures, here are the five most common leadership mistakes:   1.    Hesitating to make tough calls 2.    Not communicating with people on an individual level 3.    Creating an environment where people don't thrive 4.    Focusing inward instead of outward 5.    Falling for "the Seduction of More"   Read the comic “An Illustrated Guide to Succeeding Where So Many Leaders Fail” https://lnkd.in/dhxcfAFj   Contact us for more winning strategies to lead a thriving retirement planning business: https://shorturl.at/CMU15   #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

Younger people are increasingly describing themselves as having "money dysmorphia"--an inaccurate view of their true financial health. Erin Lowry writes in Bloomberg that according to a recent Credit Karma study, 43% of Gen Z and 41% of millennials say they suffer from a flawed perception of their finances. Lowry says, "While it might sound like just another form of TikTok-induced anxiety, money dysmorphia is a real problem that can cause someone to make poor or ill-informed decisions." She adds that having a financial perspective rooted in fear rather than fact is nothing new. Those of us with grandparents belonging to the Greatest Generation will recognize the Depression-era scarcity mentality. There's no easy solution. But instead of being in a constant state of unease, millennials and Gen Z should ground themselves by doing the math on what amount of money would make them sleep easier. And of course, get professional financial advice. Read "Money dysmorphia is haunting millennials and Gen Zers" https://lnkd.in/eedGm55p Contact us to find out how you can align your clients' financial perspective with their retirement goals: https://lnkd.in/ezi5Drcb #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

The Department of Labor has issued new rules around employee classification, tightening the definition of independent contractors. This could change which workers are eligible to join a retirement plan. David Levine, a principal at Groom Law Group, says that independent contractors are eligible to join 457 plans but are not eligible to join 401(k)s or 403(b)s. There is an exception for self-employed ministers, who may join 403(b) church plans. Levine says that plan sponsors should certainly evaluate how independent contractors may be treated under the new rules. He added that many plans have language about individuals who are not classified as employees still not being eligible even if reclassified as a categorical exception. He recommends plans conduct a review of “independent contractor process and plan language,” and consult with their plan counsel on which workers might become eligible. Read "How Does the DOL’s Independent Contractor Rule Affect Plan Eligibility?" https://lnkd.in/gBW22hPD Contact us to stay updated on new rules and ensure your clients' retirement plan eligibility: https://lnkd.in/ezi5Drcb #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

How can you come across as likable when meeting someone for the first time? The answer, according to science, is pretty simple. Take a genuine interest in them and listen to what they have to say. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that asking a question (and then asking at least two follow-up questions) dramatically increases how likable other people perceive you to be. The study's authors explain that when we ask more questions, we are perceived as higher in responsiveness, an interpersonal construct that captures listening, understanding, validation, and care. When you ask a question, you need to actually listen to the answer, so that your follow-up questions can show that you were paying attention and cared about what you heard. And of course, everybody's favorite topic is themselves. Read "When You Meet Someone New, Harvard Research Shows This Is How You Instantly Become More Likable" https://lnkd.in/gKCXXiq8 Contact us to learn how we can help you enhance client interactions and build stronger relationships: https://lnkd.in/ezi5Drcb #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

When you're halfway up a steep hiking trail and wondering why you thought this was going to be enjoyable, just remember that you're experiencing "hard fun." According to psychologists, this kind of fun is good for your personal growth. Mike Rucker, PhD, who writes about the Science of Fun for "Psychology Today," says that hard fun is a term that was popularized in educational circles. It refers to the idea that people (and especially children) often derive deep joy and satisfaction from tasks that push their limits and require significant effort to overcome. Type II Fun is the official term used to describe activities that are enjoyable, not necessarily in the moment, but in retrospect. These types of fun are often associated with pursuits of endurance like sports or outdoor activities such as mountaineering and hiking, where the pleasure is derived from overcoming adversity, reflecting on the experience, and the sense of achievement it brings. Read "Embracing Hard Fun for Personal Growth" https://lnkd.in/eaVCF4fP Contact us to learn how we can help you boost your team's performance and client outcomes: https://lnkd.in/ezi5Drcb #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

Younger workers aren't just concerned about saving for retirement. They're worried that their financial insecurity could lead to homelessness. USA Today reports on a survey conducted by Acorns and Opinium Research, which finds that nearly a third of Gen Z and millennials worry that their finances could lead them to experience homelessness. These younger workers are nearly three times more likely than boomers and older respondents to worry about this outcome, results of the survey showed. They also found that 33% of millennials and 28% of Gen Z report that they are unable to enjoy their lives because they obsess over money. Less than 10% of respondents don’t have any financial concerns. Those who do have concerns say that the cost of living and inflation stress them out more than debt, retirement, interest, mortgages, and a lack of savings. Read "Gen Z, millennials concerned about their finances leading to homelessness" https://lnkd.in/gyMGHX9U Contact us for strategies to address the financial concerns of your Gen Z and millennial clients: https://lnkd.in/ezi5Drcb #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting

Inflation is changing how workers view their ability to fund their retirement. 401(k) Specialist Magazine reports that a recent survey by MFS Investment Management (which surveyed more than 1,000 DC participants in the U.S. and an additional 3,000 globally) found that 60% of workers believe the rise in inflation has caused them to think differently about their retirement. 75% say they now need to save more for retirement than they originally thought. 66% lack the confidence to retire at the age they want. And 32% think they will not be able to retire at all. Another 63% of workers believe their retirement will not mean an end to their employment but rather a transition to reduced hours or a different job, while 61% of Americans have adopted more conservative investment strategies. Respondents also say that other financial priorities, including affording day-to-day costs and paying down debt, are in higher competition with retirement savings now. Read "As High Inflation Enters Third Year, Americans Rethink Retirement" https://lnkd.in/eqwQQRjS Contact us to learn how you can secure your clients' financial future in the face of rising inflation: https://lnkd.in/ezi5Drcb #financialadvisors #retirementplanning #planprospecting