New Schwab Data: Pandemic Reveals Demand for Virtual and Self-Serve 401(k) Education
March 30 2021 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Workers prefer holistic personal finance help
over plan-specific topics
New data from Schwab Retirement Plan Services reveals worker
preferences in retirement education that can help employers more
effectively support their employees’ financial health in
post-pandemic times.
Workers flocked to online retirement education in 2020 and were
less likely to cancel attendance and more likely to choose
on-demand sessions than in 2019. One third of all participants in
Schwab’s 2020 education sessions chose to view virtual material at
a time of their choosing rather than attending live online
sessions, representing a 207% increase in attendance at on-demand
sessions compared to 2019.
The popularity of virtual sessions was clear even before the
pandemic. “In 2019, we had three times higher attendance in virtual
sessions than in-person on-site sessions, with the added
flexibility for attendees to join the sessions either live online
or later through an on-demand recording,” said Nathan Voris, Senior
Managing Director, Business Strategy at Schwab Workplace Financial
Services. “And of course, those trends accelerated sharply in 2020
when the pandemic drove nearly all participant education into a
virtual environment.”
Employers see value in virtual education as well, with the
versatile online approach greatly simplifying delivery to the
workforce. “In-person sessions often require clients to set up
multiple conference rooms and juggle peak workloads across
different teams. The virtual environment eliminates those
challenges, and all the time and effort that comes with them,”
Voris added. In another sign that employers benefited from the
increased convenience of virtual sessions, meeting day
cancellations and reschedules among Schwab plan sponsor clients
declined 57% in 2020 compared with 2019.
“Even when more people begin returning to their workplaces, we
believe many will continue to prefer accessing financial education
at their desks, at home or on their mobile devices, whether for a
scheduled live event or an on-demand session.”
Compared with 2019, the number of on-site meeting days in 2020
dropped almost 88% as a result of the pandemic, and attendance at
virtual education sessions increased 53%. “On-site education
meetings seem unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels,” added
Voris. “In 2020, we saw a significant acceleration in the trend
towards virtual delivery but the number of employees making this
choice has been growing since at least 2018.”
Workers want holistic help
Workers have also increasingly shown they want information
beyond plan-specific features. Last year Schwab saw a 54% increase
in attendance for virtual sessions on holistic personal finance
topics versus a 37% increase in attendance for virtual sessions on
plan-specific topics compared to 2019.
In 2020 Schwab offered a variety of online content with
practical approaches designed to improve workers’ financial
know-how. These included live panel discussions on timely personal
finance and investing questions; informal, 10-minute “coffee talks”
on trending topics such as managing finances during uncertainty;
and live, interactive webcasts with in-depth discussions on how to
save, invest, and manage expenses. As part of the webcast series,
Schwab added new workshops that addressed market volatility, and
transitioned in-person, plan-specific learning to virtual
sessions.
“It’s clear that the outlook for retirement education includes
more focus on overall financial fitness and more options to let
workers choose when and how they receive that education,” Voris
said.
About Charles Schwab
At Charles Schwab we believe in the power of investing to help
individuals create a better tomorrow. We have a history of
challenging the status quo in our industry, innovating in ways that
benefit investors and the advisors and employers who serve them,
and championing our clients’ goals with passion and integrity.
More information is available at www.aboutschwab.com. Follow us
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Disclosures
Through its operating subsidiaries, The Charles Schwab
Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) provides a full range of securities
brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory
services to individual investors and independent investment
advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co.,
Inc. (member SIPC, www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer a complete
range of investment services and products including an extensive
selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment
advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services;
compliance and trade monitoring solutions; referrals to independent
fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and
trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors
through Schwab Advisor Services. Its banking subsidiary, Charles
Schwab Bank (member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender), provides
banking and lending services and products. More information is
available at www.schwab.com and www.aboutschwab.com.
Workplace Financial Services is a business enterprise which
offers products and services through Schwab Retirement Plan
Services, Inc.; Schwab Stock Plan Services; and Compliance
Solutions. Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc., provides
recordkeeping and related services with respect to retirement
plans. Schwab Stock Plan Services is a division of Charles Schwab
& Co., Inc. providing equity compensation plan services and
brokerage solutions for corporate clients. Compliance Solutions is
comprised of Schwab Designated Brokerage Services (DBS), a division
of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., and Schwab Compliance
Technologies, Inc. (SchwabCT). DBS provides brokerage solutions for
corporate clients who monitor their employees’ securities activity.
SchwabCT provides technology solutions for corporate clients to
help facilitate their compliance technology program implementation.
Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc., Schwab Compliance
Technologies, Inc., and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (Member
SIPC, www.sipc.org) are separate but affiliated entities, and each
is a subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
(0421-1LTB)
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Mike Peterson Charles Schwab 330-908-4334
mike.peterson@schwab.com
Travis Fishstein The Neibart Group 718-801-8205
schwabrps@neibartgroup.com
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