Financial Wellness Offerings a Must-Have Benefit for Employees

Almost four years ago, Abbott started offering Freedom 2 Save, a first-of-its-kind program that allows our employees with student debt to simultaneously pay down those loans and save for retirement.

We created the program because our employees were telling us they were struggling to manage both financial commitments. Since Freedom 2 Save’s debut, we’ve had about 1,900 employees enroll – and enough time has passed that some of those employees have used the program to eliminate all of their student loans.

One of those employees – clinical specialist Kyle Perez – used Freedom 2 Save to pay off about $35,000 in educational debt. (That’s him smiling at graduation in the picture above.) The 24-year-old did it over about a year and a half and then kept going, paying off his car too.

Stories like Kyle’s prove it’s possible for employers to innovate benefits offerings that will help their employees achieve financial wellness. This is important to us at Abbott because we know if we invest in our people, helping them live their best lives personally and professionally, they’ll invest in their careers with us.

There are three benefits categories I would point employees toward as they consider how their employers can help them achieve financial wellness: retirement benefits, health savings accounts (HSAs) and flexible spending accounts and education-related assistance programs.

Retirement: Always top of my list is making sure you are saving enough to maximize your 401(k) match. Without that you’re leaving money and opportunity on the table.

HSAs and Flex Spending: HSAs are triple tax-free vehicles to help you cover current expenses and save for retirement, while your dollars go farther with flex spending accounts because you’re covering medical, childcare and transportation expenses with pre-tax dollars.

Education: Whether you’re looking to earn your first college degree or earn additional degrees, there are many money-saving programs available from employers. For example, at Abbott we offer FreeU, which helps employees work toward bachelors’ degrees on flexible schedules and without financial burden.

Now that he’s debt free, Kyle says he’s continuing his retirement savings, but he has other financial motivations too.

“I’m moving on to saving for other things I’ve always dreamed of, like traveling the world,” Kyle said. “I’ve always wanted to travel and provide for my family in the future.”