Plan Sponsor News

April is Financial Literacy Month. Across the country, organizations will be sponsoring campaigns to educate Americans on saving, investing, budgeting and managing debt. 

This drive to improve financial literacy is needed. The Council for Economic Education’s 2020 survey found that only 21 states require high school students to take a class in personal finance—four more states than in 2018, but still less than half. 

According to the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, financial literacy has declined in recent years from already low levels: the percentage of American adults with a grasp on basic financial concepts dropped from 42% in 2009 to 34% in 2018.* This gap in knowledge can be costly, with people making uninformed financial decisions in areas like credit card usage, mortgage rates and their spending habits.   

With greater financial know-how, we can all be better prepared to achieve a more financially secure future. 

The Financial Resource Center is a good starting point.

To help your employees become more knowledgeable about saving and investing, our online Financial Resource Center features articles that explore concepts from asset allocation to managing retirement income and more. Participants can try online retirement calculators to help decide how much they can save now and how much income they may need in the future. The Retirement Insights newsletter provides tips on a variety of personal finance topics as well. 

Mutual of America offers personal education during Financial Literacy Month and beyond.

Here are four ways our Participant Account Representatives (PARs) can help participants in your plan better understand saving and investment options and their financial future: 

Asset allocation review—Educating participants about the basics of asset allocation so they can evaluate whether their selections reflect their time horizon and risk tolerance.
Retirement income option review—Walking participants through the range of payout options, offering strategies for managing retirement savings and explaining the rules around minimum distributions.
Discuss additional savings opportunities—Highlighting different options, such as supplementing their savings with a Mutual of America IRA, a variable annuity contract. 
Individual sessions or group meetings—Helping employees one-on-one or in a group at the workplace, at their home (or another convenient location), virtually or by phone to discuss the features of their retirement plan. 

To learn more, contact your local Mutual of America representative today.

* The State of U.S. Financial Capability: The 2018 National Financial Capability Study. Page 33. FINRA Investor Education Foundation. June 2019.

Mutual of America’s IRAs are individual variable annuity contracts and are suitable for long-term investing, particularly for retirement savings. The value of a variable annuity contract will fluctuate depending on the performance of the Separate Account investment options you choose. Upon redemption, you could receive more or less than the principal amount invested.

A variable annuity contract provides no additional tax-deferred treatment of benefits beyond the treatment provided to any IRA by applicable tax law. You should consider a variable annuity contract’s other features before making a decision.

Information and interactive calculators are made available as self-help tools for independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We cannot and do not guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regard to individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes only. We encourage individuals to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.

In recent years, many of us have reevaluated our financial habits: the way we work, our budgets for spending and saving, and which financial priorities we consider the most important. 

Making adjustments in those areas may be harder for those who are less financially literate. The challenges that come with trying to understand complicated issues around personal finance can impact job performance and morale when employees bring those concerns with them to the office.  

To help your employees achieve greater financial peace of mind, it’s good to be aware of what’s keeping them up at night. Whether it’s debt, worries over having enough income to live on in retirement, or uncertainty about how much to save for their children’s college tuition, employees may need support and guidance. 

Financial worries are an unwelcome distraction.

More than 6 in 10 workers said thinking about their financial future makes them feel stressed, and almost half said such worries distract them from work, according to a 2021 study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.¹ 

Debt is keeping people from saving. 

Long-term savings are put at risk by excessive debt. When asked about nonmortgage debt, 4 in 10 workers said their debt burden makes it hard to participate in a workplace retirement plan.² And almost half said household debt negatively affects their ability to save for retirement.³ 

COVID-19 has taken a toll on workers’ retirement expectations. 

One-third of workers say they are less able to save for retirement because of the pandemic’s economic effects.⁴ A smaller yet still sizeable group, 17% say they now expect to retire later than they had planned prepandemic.⁵

Improving the financial literacy of your employees can make a big difference in their work and personal lives: less stress; greater confidence in their decision-making; and potentially, increased savings for a more financially secure retirement. Your local Mutual of America Participant Account Representative can help. They are available to provide the educational resources that can help your employees as they navigate saving for retirement, one-on-one or in a group setting. 

¹2021 Workplace Wellness Survey. Page 15. EBRI/Greenwald Research. September 2021.
²2021 Retirement Confidence Survey. Page 6. EBRI/Greenwald Research. April 2021; and EBRI Issue Brief. Figure 9. Page 13. EBRI/Greenwald Research. June 2021.
³2021 Retirement Confidence Survey. Page 6. EBRI/Greenwald Research. April 2021; and EBRI Issue Brief. Figure 8. Page 13. EBRI/Greenwald Research. June 2021.
⁴2021 Retirement Confidence Survey. Figure 5. Page 16. EBRI/Greenwald Research. April 2021.
⁵2021 Retirement Confidence Survey. Figure 16. Page 27. EBRI/Greenwald Research. April 2021.

The Mutual of America Foundation is proud to announce that it has selected five nonprofit organizations as winners of its 2021 Community Partnership Award. These honorees have shown exemplary leadership by forging partnerships with public, private and social sector leaders who are working together to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good. 

The Nathaniel Project received the Thomas J. Moran Award, which is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video showcasing its work. 

The Nathaniel Project was established in 2000 by CASES (The Center for Alternative Sentencing & Employment Services) to increase public safety through innovative services that reduce crime and incarceration, improve behavioral health, promote recovery and rehabilitation, and create opportunities for success. The Nathaniel Project is New York City’s first alternative-to-incarceration program for adults with serious mental illness who are facing prison as the result of felony charges.

Honorable-Mention award recipients—Adopt-A-Neighborhood Project of Kansas City, Missouri; Clean Water for Carolina Kids; Irvine, California-based HomeAid WORKS; and North Market of Minneapolis—will each receive $50,000.

As these organizations work to build stronger, more resilient communities, transforming lives and changing the world around them, Mutual of America is proud to support them and help extend their reach. 

Welcoming 2022 award submissions

The 2022 Mutual of America Community Partnership Award competition is now open. Nonprofit organizations can view the application guidelines and apply for the award through May 1.

Since 1996, the Community Partnership Award has annually recognized the critical role nonprofits play in addressing society’s most complex challenges:

Improving access to quality education, healthcare and jobs
Combating social and racial injustice
Alleviating poverty and food insecurity
Empowering young people to succeed in school, work and life.

Past and current recipients of the award represent a diverse range of causes and interests, achieving lasting and meaningful change in cities, small towns and rural areas across the country. You can view documentary videos on past national award-winning programs here.

Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society. The Community Partnership Award is an integral part of that mission.