Mr Mann succeeds retiring CEO Douglas Latto, while Mr Harvie has taken over the reins from Terry Rhodes.

“I would like to thank Douglas and Terry for the many years they have invested into developing the WSSA into the representative body it is today,” Mr Mann said. “We intend to build on their work so that members can continue to deliver vital superannuation services to everyday Australians throughout a period of massive transition.”

WSSA members provide financial education and advisory services to thousands of corporate superannuation funds across metropolitan and regional Australia. They work with Australian companies and their employees by bringing financial education to the workplace at a low cost through structured programmes set in conjunction with employers and product providers. They also work with employers and policy committees to help ensure members receive competitive benefits and features, at competitive prices.

“Workplace superannuation specialists are involved in improving the financial literacy of many thousands of superannuation fund members on a daily basis, however in the current political environment their work is sometimes undervalued and underappreciated,” Mr Mann said. “The WSSA represents its members at an industry, government and regulatory level and our number one goal is to support them so that they can continue to provide their vital services to the many thousands of everyday Australians who need them.”

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Terry Rhodes

Advisers specialising in the workplace superannuation space are ideally placed to offer online financial wellness programmes, according to Workplace Super Specialists Australia (WSSA) President, Terry Rhodes and should be looking to broaden their service offer to include these types of initiatives.

“Workplace super specialists are in the best place to provide financial education literacy to employers and their employees, and could be looking at fintech providers, who are developing financial literacy programs at a great rate of knots, to help them deliver.”

Mr Rhodes said both traditional and non-traditional fintech providers are already delivering a range of financial wellness programmes, covering education around for example, budgeting, spending, saving for emergencies, superannuation and preparing for retirement.

“These types of programmes are gaining traction with employers and we see this as a huge opportunity for workplace super specialists who could partner with or white label solutions from providers,” he said.

Mr Rhodes will be presenting a session on workplace member engagement and a global perspective on financial wellness programs in conjunction with former Moneywise general manager, Paul Mann, at the WSSA conference in Sydney this Friday.

“We have been looking at providers who have been delivering online financial literacy and wellness programs to employers in the UK and the US and will be reporting back on our discoveries,” Mr Rhodes said.

The session will look at four key providers, including:

• Learnvest
• HelloWallet
• Sum180
• Mercer

The session follows on from last year’s release of the WSSA’s Financial Wellness Index (the Index), which found almost two in five Australian workers need to improve their financial wellness and only one in three is considered truly financially well. Research for the Index, which was conducted by CoreData on behalf of the WSSA, revealed that 39% of employees were either ‘financially unwell’ (12%) or had ‘room for improvement’ (27%).

This year’s WSSA Conference will also feature an employer’s view of the value of workplace super specialists by Kennards Hire’s Training & HR Projects Manager, Marc Calwell.

Register for the WSSA Conference. 

The post WSSA: The future lies in wellness appeared first on AdviserVoice.

WSSA has developed a ‘Financial Wellness’ index for Australians.

Australians are on a huge spectrum of Workplace Financial Wellness with only 6% classified as ‘superstars’, and 12% as ‘financially unwell’ meaning they are in desperate need of financial help.

According to the Workplace Super Specialists Australia (WSSA) who developed its Financial Wellness index in conjunction with CoreData, financial wellness is:

• A state of being healthy, happy and free from any financial worries and stressors;
• Being able to live your desired lifestyle for the rest of your life without financial anxiety or fear;
• Having a clear understanding of your financial situation and having the ability to live within your financial means.

Australians who were ranked as ‘financially unwell’ typically struggle with the first building blocks to wellness, that is budgeting and debt management.

They are also stressed and overwhelmed, with almost all indicating they are not financially secure for the future (96%). The vast majority indicated their finances are out of control (91%).

In addition, females are overrepresented in this group, and most have poor financial literacy. Many feel they cannot live within their means, and need help with the most basic financial planning skills.

In comparison, ‘Superstars’ have little to no anxiety when it comes to their finances, short and long-term financial goals are adequately defined, and risk management, estate, and retirement savings plans are in place.

This group has good financial habits they regularly implement, including research, monitoring investments and spending, as well as regularly reviewing arrangements such as estate plans. The majority of the Superstars also have a dedicated financial adviser (56.6%).

WSSA President Terry Rhodes says the survey demonstrates the clear iinks between employee financial literacy and perceived levels of financial wellness, and financial stress and productivity.

“We know employees who lack financial wellness tend to be more stressed, as observed by more than three in five employers (63.3%),” he says.

“Further, a significant number of employers also noted presenteeism (43.3%), low morale (30%), and absenteeism (16.7%) as other consequences of poor financial wellness.

The high correlation between financial literacy and financial wellness means there is an extremely powerful and potent solution that can be used to ‘even out’ the wellness spectrum.

“Financial wellness programs have a clear benefit for all involved, employees and employers alike, and if we play that out even further, a national benefit,” says Rhodes.

The survey showed despite the costs of poor financial wellness, only 15.2% of the businesses surveyed had implemented a financial wellness program.

Yet three in five of those that had have seen an increase in the overall financial wellness of their employees over the last six months.

“Employers need to take a look at the data on wellness, as it is both powerful and empowering and is one of the most effective ways of positively impacting the behaviours of employees and how they feel.”

Other findings include:

• Financial literacy underpins financial wellness, with 95% of the superstars having strong or very strong financial literacy compared to less than 4% of the financially unwell.
• Males are typically more financially well than Females, possibly due to factors such as workplace discrimination, wage ceilings and financial abuse within relationships.

• Age has little effect on the wellness of each individual, indicating that financial wellness is not an absolute measure, but rather is relative to each individual’s situation.

For a full copy of the findings from the research, click HERE.

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Jenny Brown

I’d love to see you and welcome you to fascinating Canberra, our nation’s capital for the AFA 2016 National Adviser Conference, the jewel in the crown for the AFA – October 5-7, 2016.

As a practising adviser, this Conference is always the highlight of my year and I look forward to it as a chance to hear, watch and learn from the best, as well as to catch up with colleagues and friends.

This year’s conference is about ‘Adaptive Change – taking advice beyond the horizon’ and as advisers we need to accept the challenge to think differently, to evolve and to be better prepared for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

The AFA has been working tirelessly to be more effective in delivering value for members by improving the positioning and relevance of our association, the results of which will be on show at the conference – whether it has been raising adviser professionalism, stronger relationships and influence with Government, an industry-leading professional education pathway, or the building of a voice to consumers through Your Best Interests – the AFA has laid a strong platform for the future.

As preparations for the 2016 AFA National Adviser Conference approach the final stages, we are absolutely thrilled to be able to bring some amazing keynote speakers to the stage including;

• The Hon John Howard OA AC – Political Leadership
• Dr Ric Charlesworth – High-Performance Leadership
• Dr Adam Fraser – Peak Performance Without the Collateral Damage
• Tony Bongiorno – MDRT Learnings from Around the World
• Dr Jason Mitchell – Academic Leadership
• Brian Freeman – Humanitarian Leadership
• Dr Jason Mitchell, Professor of Psychology Harvard University
• Graham Rich, PortfolioConstruction Forum
• Stephen Halmarick, Chief Economist CFS Global Asset Management
• Joanne Earl, Associate Professor Flinders Business School
• David Reed, Adviser of the Year
• Paul Kearney, Practice of the Year
• Over 30 AFA Members sharing their best practice
• Brad Fox, Scott Moffit, Richard Klipin, Terry Rhodes, Dave Slovinec – Growing the demand for insurance

We have 3 amazing masterclasses from our communities of practice to explore more opportunities;

• Inspire with Margie Warrell
• Genxt with Dr Ric Charlesworth
• Leaders Forum – The AFA community of ideas and sharing

These world class speakers are augmented by a plethora of awesome advisers from our AFA community who are all willing to share the insights, skills and knowledge that they have applied to their own advice practices to ensure they are future proofed and ready to thrive as financial advice is taken beyond the horizon.

The conference committee has listened to members’ feedback and worked hard to build a program that blends exceptional technical knowledge with practical implementation based upon the AFA adviser learning pillars:

• Business Performance
• Adviser Performance
• Advice Strategies
• Professionalism and Learning

Our goal is to provide you with inspiration and load you up with the best ideas, strategies and the tools to implement those ideas to ensure that you can deliver exceptional service for your clients, helping them understand your advice strategies and how you can work with them to build and lead better lives. After all, everything we do is to put our clients and their families into a better situation, to be their trusted adviser.

Also, back by popular demand are our ‘Meet the Professionals’ and ‘Meet the Innovators’ round-table discussions.

With more advisers than ever now choosing to belong to the AFA, we are proud that there is more adviser input to this year’s conference agenda. Hearing from our peers we have always found to be incredibly worthwhile, and remembering that the smartest person in the room may not be the person on stage, it could be the person sitting next to you, or at lunch, or at the dinner function, you will hear a multitude of stories or how advisers solve our client’s problems, how they refine their skills, and we can even learn from their mistakes. Advisers have a unique perspective on the operation of the financial advice profession and all of this knowledge and ongoing learning can be captured and shared for the benefit of all.

So my question to you is, “What is holding you back from taking the next step forward in how you provide advice, how you improve your client experience and client outcomes, and your own profitability?” My bet is the answers can be found at the AFA National Adviser Conference.

But have you booked yet? The answers won’t come to you; you need to come to Conference to get them. In the absence of taking action, nothing will change, so click on to www.afaconference.com.au and register.

Whether you are a new adviser, a practice owner or an employed adviser, this will be a conference to help equip you to serve your client’s needs better, to prepare you for the opportunities ahead and help you take your financial advice beyond the horizon.

We’re looking forward to seeing you in Canberra.

Jenny Brown, Conference Co-Chair

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Terry Rhodes

The Workplace Super Specialists Australia (WSSA) Financial Wellness Index has found almost two in five Australian workers are in dire need of improving their financial wellbeing, with only one in three considered truly financially well.

According to CoreData who conducted the research on behalf of the WSSA, just over one in three or 39% of employees were categorized as either ‘financially unwell’ (12%) or as having ‘room for improvement’ (27%), indicating that much of their financial situation is in desperate need for improvement.

Under a third (29%) of employees were rated as ‘on the way to wellness’, while 26% were rated as having ‘financial wellness’ and 6% as ‘super stars’.

“This data should be regarded as a real cry for help from everyday Australians living the day-to-day reality of their financial wellness,: says Terry Rhodes, President, WSSA. “It is a situation that is both stressful and costly for employees and employers.”

The research demonstrates a typical pathway to financial wellness among Australians with sequential ‘building blocks’ to success. This suggests an initial focus on achievable shorter term financial objectives, building confidence towards looking at long-term financial goals.

These categories were devised by CoreData based on employee responses to objective and subjective questions that related to their personal day to day circumstances and long term financial preparation.

Alarmingly, lack of financial wellness is driving absenteeism and presentism in the Australian workplace, estimated to cost at least $33 billion annually to businesses[1].

The most common behavioural impact of poor financial wellness in the workplace as described by employers is stressed employees (61%). This is followed by unengaged/distracted employees (43%), low morale (30%), unhealthy employees (23%) and absenteeism (16%).

The research also found there was a clear difference between male and female employees, with almost one in two males being ‘financially wel’l or ‘superstars’, compared to less than a quarter of females. On the flip side, almost one in two females are ‘financially unwel’ or have ‘room for improvement’, compared to less than a quarter of males.

A key driver of financial wellness was financial literacy, as more than half of the ‘financially unwell’ have poor or very poor financial literacy, where as 93% of ‘superstars’ have strong or very strong financial literacy.

“This research highlights the strong link between financial literacy and financial wellness, and we know that financial advisers can make a huge difference to financial literacy,” says Rhodes.

Australian employers are highly supporting of improving financial literacy with more than 60% of the surveyed employers regarding helping employees develop their financial literacy as extremely or very valuable. An overwhelming 90% of employers considered one-one-one sessions with advisers as the most valuable way to communicate with employees.

“There is a huge opportunity for employers and financial advisers to have a positive impact on the financial wellbeing of their employees through engagement programs that build knowledge, help them to achieve their goals, are relevant and affordable,” says Rhodes.

Other findings:

• Only 6% of the ‘financially unwell’ pay off their credit card regularly, 21% indicated they spend more than they earn
• Two in three ‘room for Improvement’ employees save money regularly, yet few were confident they had adequate insurance (12%)
• Almost one in two who were ‘on their way to wellness’ indicated they had set specific financial goals, and two in three have average financial literacy
• Almost three in four ‘financially well’ employees always pay off their credit card and over half have a retirement savings plan
• ‘Superstars’ scored the top score in most sections, with 90% having adequate insurance arrangements, and 60% documenting their estate plan
• Financial literacy is the key to moving employees along the journey to financial wellness. Interventions need to consider the milestones each employee has reached in this journey. For those who require the most help, setting achievable shorter-term goals and building confidence towards longer-term ambitions is key to garnering behavioural change and ultimately improving employee financial wellness outcomes.

———

[1] (BUPA, 2015) (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2010)

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CSSA President, Douglas Latto, will take up the position of Chief Executive Officer while Managing Director of AFM Advisers, Terry Rhodes, will take on the President position.

Mr Latto says the change will enable a new strategic direction for the CSSA, which revolves around bringing financial education to the workplace and providing further professional education for corporate super specialists.

“Improving financial education in the workplace is the number one goal of the CSSA. Our association enables corporate super advisers to create a forum to work together to provide an even higher level of service,” he says.

“Our members are working with employers and policy committees all the time, to ensure their employees are getting the most out of their super and managing it appropriately – it is a service that is valued by both employer and employee.”

Mr Rhodes says his appointment will enable him to work more closely with the CSSA board to improve ways of providing essential support to employers and their employees in managing Australia’s growing superannuation pool. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with the CSSA Board, regulators, government, funds and members to continue to provide more innovative ways to provide a service which is so important to an individuals retirement saving and insurance choices,” he says.

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