Financial wellness for employees

Our goal is to help your employees — no matter where they are on their financial journey — feel cared for and supported with the opportunity to live their best financial lives. We believe financial wellness is a holistic view of an employee’s financial situation paired with personalized guidance that goes beyond traditional benefits to provide more of what employees need to manage their day-to-day finances while preparing for the future — whether creating a budget, preparing for emergencies, saving for health care or planning for a steady stream of income in retirement. 

 

Financial education and guidance

Your employees will have access to education and guidance to help them take control of their financial lives. We work with them to create a financial strategy that can help equip them with the financial confidence they need to understand the impact of their financial decisions, prepare for life events, take action to pursue their goals and stay engaged.

 

High-tech, high-touch experience

We meet your employees where they are with high-tech and high-touch solutions that make financial wellness personal and actionable at every life stage to help them take the best next step.

 

In-person

Mobile app

Benefits OnLine®

Targeted communication programs

24/7 Customer Care Center

Erica® Virtual Financial Assistant

Personalized, comprehensive and engaging

Our goal is to provide a personalized experience for your employees bringing together what we know about the individual with trends, behavioral insights and consumer data to provide intelligent guidance and suggestions based on their financial situation. Our approach starts with assessing an employee’s financial health, then providing the suggested actions they can take to help them improve their financial wellness by offering:

 

Financial Wellness Tracker

Supported by industry research and our insights from working with millions of employees, the Financial Wellness Tracker is a proprietary assessment that calculates a financial wellness score based on where an employee is today. Easily accessed through Benefits OnLine®, our participant website, it delivers a suggested action plan detailing the personalized steps employees may want to consider to help improve their financial lives.

 

Comprehensive education

Provide your employees with actionable information, tools and guidance to help them gain financial confidence. Our resources provide accessible, engaging content that features insights from our Chief Investment Office as well as financial education material from Better Money Habits®. Whether it's through seminars, webinars or access to our online education center, your employees get on-point instruction how and where they want it.

 

Investment guidance and advice programs

You can choose to offer your employees advice through Personal Retirement Strategy, easily accessed through Benefits OnLine. This comprehensive, easy-to-use online service offers employees personalized insights and investment guidance to help steer them towards their goals. They can also choose, for a fee, to have Personal Retirement Strategy select, manage, and monitor their 401(k) account’s investment mix – on an ongoing basis – so they don’t have the task of trying to keep their plan on track with their income goal. This Merrill Managed option can help your employees feel even more confident about the actions they’re taking today for their future.

 

Personalized guidance

Working with trained financial wellness specialists across the country, in-person or over the phone, your employees can pursue what’s important to them, no matter their level, life stage or goal.

Frequently asked questions

How do I promote financial education programs and increase my employees’ financial IQ?

Promoting financial wellness programs in the workplace starts with offering the right tools and resources. Since everyone has different learning preferences, providing employees with a broad spectrum of educational formats is critical to success. Some of these tools include the Benefits OnLine® Education Center and Better Money Habits. With the right program, you can then create a strategic communications plan to boost employee participation.

 

How do I help employees with financial stress?

If you’re concerned about employee financial stress, you can partner with an investment advisory program to assist in retirement planning and investment guidance for your employees. Ensuring this support is accessible to all employees can help alleviate additional stress. Learn more about Personal Retirement Strategy.

 

How can a financial wellness program help attract and retain talent?

Learning how to attract and retain talent starts with offering comprehensive financial wellness programs. Employees can feel more satisfied, loyal, engaged, and productive when supported by their company in this way. When it comes to recruitment and retention, providing financial support can help your business stand out and grow.

 

How can a financial wellness program demonstrate my company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion (D&I) and employee resource groups?

Accessible financial wellness programs that address the broad financial needs and goals of a diverse workforce are essential to diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts and employee resource groups (ERG). It can demonstrate your business’s commitment to supporting all employees and equipping them with the necessary resources to succeed, no matter their education or financial background.

 

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Erica®, the guide by your side

two people walking and talking at work

 

Bank of America’s virtual financial assistant, Erica®, can help employees spend, save, and plan smarter with quick answers to their questions, personalized insights, and access to the information they need across their full financial lives. Just talk, type or tap right in the mobile app.

 

 

Employee Financial Wellness in America

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Discover how we can empower your employees through powerful tools and personalized guidance.

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Personal Retirement Strategy is an online investment advisory programs sponsored by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. ("MLPF&S" or "Merrill") that uses a probabilistic approach to determine the likelihood that participants in the program will accumulate sufficient total assets to achieve their annual retirement income goal. The recommendations provided by Personal Retirement Strategy may include a higher level of investment risk than a participant may be personally comfortable with. Participants are strongly advised to consider their personal goals, overall risk tolerance, and retirement horizon before accepting any recommendations made by Personal Retirement Strategy. Participants should carefully review the explanation of the methodology used, including key assumptions and limitations, as well as a description of services and related fees which is provided in the Personal Retirement Strategy Brochure (ADV Part 2A). It can be obtained through Benefits OnLine or through the Retirement Benefits Contact Center.

 

Merrill offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory and other services. There are important differences between brokerage and investment advisory services, including the type of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and the rights and obligations of the parties. It is important to understand the differences, particularly when determining which service or services to select.

 

IMPORTANT: The projections or other information shown in the Advice Access program and/or the Personal Retirement Strategy program regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.

 

1Investment products are available from Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated. 

2Bank products are available from Bank of America, N.A., and affiliated banks.

3The J.D. Power Certified Contact Center ProgramSM focuses on critical areas of customer satisfaction by rewarding best practices that are aligned with customer needs. To become certified for live phone interactions, a contact center operation must successfully pass a detailed audit and perform within the top 20 percent of customer service scores, which are based on benchmarks established in J.D. Power’s cross-industry customer satisfaction research. The evaluation criteria include the customer service representative’s courtesy, knowledge and concern for the customer; promptness in speaking to a person; and timely resolution of the problem or request. Additionally, the experience with the automated phone system is evaluated based on the clarity of the information provided, the ease of navigating the phone menu prompts and the ease of understanding the phone menu instructions. Certified as of August 2024. J.D. Power 2024 Certified Customer Service ProgramSM recognition is based on successful completion of an evaluation and exceeding a customer satisfaction benchmark through a survey of recent servicing interactions. Bank of America engaged J.D. Power to be independently evaluated through this program and cite the results. For more information, visit www.jdpower/com/awards. The ranking or ratings shown here may not be representative of all client experiences because they reflect an average or sampling of the client experiences. These rankings or ratings are not indicative of any future performance or investment outcome. Participation in the certification audit was paid for by Bank of America.