Manning & Napier Survey Finds Imminent Transition to Holistic Health and Retirement Benefits for Businesses

FAIRPORT, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

With the cost and complexities of health care becoming a burden for companies and their employees, employers and human resource professionals see a demand for transitioning to a holistic health and retirement benefits plan in the near-term, according to a survey conducted by Manning & Napier, as part of their development of their Health Savings Account Guidebook: http://go.manning-napier.com/HSAGuidebook.

“Today's rising health care costs are a major concern for employers, employees, and the advisors who serve them. Not only has health care cost become an added burden, but many employers are concerned about the impact on their employees' long-term retirement savings,” said Shelby George, Practice Leader, Benefits Solutions at Manning & Napier. “There is no doubt that health and wealth are inextricably linked and businesses are beginning to recognize the need to transition to a holistic health and retirement plan for employees.”

Survey Highlights

• Thirty-nine percent (39%) of businesses are interested in transitioning to a defined contribution plan for both health and retirement benefits.
• Over half (55%) believe that they will make the transition to a plan for both health and retirement benefits in one to three years.
• Thirty percent (30%) of businesses have at least half of their employees enrolled in a Health Savings Account (HSA) compatible plan.
• The top concern in developing an employee benefits strategy is cost (74%) followed by the employer contribution amount (49%).
• The majority (79%) of respondents are concerned that employees will cut back retirement contributions due to the rising cost of health care.
• Sixty-one percent (61%) of business owners and HR professionals agree that 401(k) vendors will need to provide an integrated tool to help participants navigate health and wealth planning decisions.

“Looking ahead, undoubtedly the next generation will see health care costs rise to an all-time-high at retirement, exponentially higher than previous generations. Among employers today, HSAs are still very much a widely under-utilized tool. Simply, they often lack adequate participant education that demonstrates the broader financial savings use. Beneficially, HSAs enable participants to begin saving for these costs, now,” continued George. “At Manning & Napier, we provide retirement advisors with the tools that they need to help educate their clients on the benefits of these accounts and solutions for navigating risks in this increasingly complicated environment.”

As a portable savings vehicle, HSAs allow individuals to pay out-of-pocket qualified medical expenses, and offer triple tax advantages. Contributions go into the account tax-free, earnings accrue tax-free and distributions are tax-free for qualified medical expenses. According to the 2014 Midyear Devenir HSA Market Survey, HSA assets continue to be on the rise, at nearly $23 billion at the end of June 2014.

In response to employers' concerns over rising health care costs, and the need to help advisors, Manning & Napier has also recently developed a Health Savings Account Guidebook. As a toolkit for advisors, the Guidebook uses a storytelling mechanism, with real-life employee health care cost scenarios at different life stages. Advisors can break down the important questions to help their clients with financing their long-term health needs, as well as important life transitions.

For more information on HSAs and Manning & Napier's Health Savings Account Guidebook, please visit: http://go.manning-napier.com/HSAGuidebook.

About the Survey

This survey, conducted by Manning & Napier, received 404 respondents consisting of U.S. small business owners, business managers and HR professionals (businesses of 1-5,000+ employees). The survey was distributed by between July and August of 2014.

About Manning & Napier, Inc.

Manning & Napier MN provides a broad range of investment solutions as well as a variety of consultative services that complement our investment process. Founded in 1970, we offer equity, fixed income and alternative strategies, as well as a range of blended asset portfolios, such as life cycle funds. We serve a diversified client base of high-net-worth individuals and institutions, including 401(k) plans, pension plans, Taft-Hartley plans, endowments and foundations. For many of these clients, our relationship goes beyond investment management and includes customized solutions that address key issues and solve client-specific problems. We are headquartered in Fairport, NY and had 508 employees as of June 30, 2014.

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