Retirement savings plan is modern, transparent and a great tool for HR amid the 'great resignation'
This article was produced in partnership with Weathsimple Work.
Top talent is at a premium in this tight labour market. The pandemic sparked a re-alignment of values among employees, with the so-called ‘great resignation’ putting more power in the hands of workers. The question for HR is how can they now attract and retain the best people? Wealthsimple believes it can help answer this call through its group retirement savings plan (GRSP), which began as an internal solution but which now serves hundreds of Canadian companies.
Wealthsimple Work is a financial wellness offering for employers, with the GRSP one of its prime elements. Paul Teshima, Chief Client Experience Officer at Wealthsimple and head of Wealthsimple Work, told HRD that having a retirement plan is fast becoming a must-have total rewards package rather than a nice-to-have perk. More and more of the higher-growth companies are realizing its importance in the talent war.
“The number one benefit for employers is the retention aspect,” he says. “For those that sign up, it’s another commitment that they're getting something back from the business.”
Employees want a simple, easy, modern experience – and Teshima believes Wealthsimple Work provides a seamless digital offering. It has found that adoption rates are high, north of 80%, while retention rates are more than 95% for those who signed up to matching plans.
Many employers who use Wealthsimple Work already use the Wealthsimple platform and are accustomed to its smooth onboarding experience. They get the dual benefit of seeing all their investments in one place - their group retirement through their employer and their personal savings.
“One of the feedback points I've heard from clients is that, regardless of how much they're saving, just the act of saving itself makes them feel in control,” Teshima says. “It actually makes them feel really good and frees up their mental productivity for actual work. We've heard that from a number of different new employers who've had high adoption rates, where previously they've had lower take-up.”
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Wealthsimple Work has a flexible model available to one employee or thousands, features anything from non-matching all the way to matching, and has no fixed term. A key element is the GRSP’s transparency. There are no hidden fees, regularly published performance reports, and it has a financial advisory committee that carries out a third-party governance assessment. There is a platform fee to employers for access to the admin area on the platform, which enables employees to feel the benefit of the lower fees.
Teshima says: “In five years’ time, every successful company is going to be offered a matching GRSP program, in my opinion. It's trending that way. The key is you want to have a program that's adopted and that provides your employees with the flexibility to invest with their value. The GRSP is not just about investing, but about employees putting their money where they care, whether it's socially responsible, or something they’re interested in like innovation or crypto.”