strategy
THE BIGGEST STRESS FOR CANADIANS
Stress is one of the contributing factors to poor health and wor-rying
about financial status is a large part of the problem. Around
6.7 million Canadians reported that most days were “quite a bit” or
“extremely stressful.” Unsurprisingly, daily stress rates proved to be
highest for those aged 35 and 54 – the peak working age group.
With the pressures of owning a home, raising children, main-taining
careers and spending time with family and friends,
Canadians have a lot to prioritize and employers have a way to
help minimize some of this stress by aiding their employees in the
area of retirement planning. Giving employees the chance to have
a structured retirement strategy means giving them one less thing
to worry about, especially when it comes to their finances.
The survey showed that Canadians who have the option to
invest in a Group RRSP are happier at their workplace than
those who do not have a Group RRSP available. This means that
by simply offering an employee savings plan, Canadian employ-ers
are cultivating employee happiness which, in turn, increases
their chances of creating a healthy company culture and ultimately
reduces the stress faced by their own employees.
THE IMPACT ON WOMEN
Women were more likely than males to report that they experi-enced
more stress in a day. And when it comes to their financial
status, women also worry more. In fact, 51 per cent of women
admit to losing sleep over financial stress. Sixty-five per cent of
men and 75 per cent of women say they are afraid they aren’t sav-ing
enough. Statistics show that women are earning less than men,
but obviously face the same costs. What does that translate to for
retirement planning? There’s less of a chance for women to have the
ability to prioritize retirement, which is a stressful thought consid-ering
women historically live longer than their male counterparts.
GIVING EMPLOYEES
THE CHANCE TO
HAVE A STRUCTURED
RETIREMENT
STRATEGY MEANS
GIVING THEM ONE
LESS THING TO
WORRY ABOUT,
ESPECIALLY WHEN
IT COMES TO THEIR
FINANCES.
TALENT ACQUISITION – A BIG PROBLEM FOR
SMALL BUSINESS?
With an incredibly competitive talent market in Canada, small
and medium-size business owners also face daily stress and a sig-nificant
challenge when it comes to attracting and retaining talent.
In the ongoing competition of highly skilled employees, small
businesses struggle to offer the sort of retirement plans that large
enterprises do. In fact, 83 per cent of small businesses cite admin-istrative
simplicity as a critical factor when deciding to offer a
retirement plan fo their employees. This is particularly important
when HR resources are limited.
However, small and medium-sized businesses must take note,
as the survey showed that 82 per cent of Canadians say it’s impor-tant
for them to have a Group RRSP offered through work, and
almost 70 per cent said they’d choose a job with a group savings
plan over one without.
INVEST IN YOUR EMPLOYEES
The good news is that companies have more options available to
them when looking to offer a Group RRSP plan. This is particu-larly
true for small and medium-sized businesses given the rise of
digital wealth management solutions which make it easier than
ever to both provide and administer a plan.
With financial worry as the leading cause of stress for Canadians,
it’s worth knowing that the simple act of providing a Group RRSP
Plan – an act that can be accomplished at no cost and takes no
more than five minutes, can significantly increase the confidence
and sense of security for your employees both in the workplace
and at home. n
Randy Cass is the founder of Nest Wealth.
Offering a group retirement plan to employees can help boost
productivity
David Franklin/123rf.com
46 ❚ DECEMBER 2018 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
/123rf.com