News Release: Panel on Financial Wellness at Money Smart Week 2015

CHICAGO (April 8, 2015) –- Employer programs that help staff members make better decisions about managing their personal finances will be the subject of a panel discussion at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 15 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

The discussion is the kick-off event for Money Smart Week, which will provide more than 500 free financial education classes and seminars to consumers throughout the Chicago area from April 18-25. Panelists will talk about different employers’ efforts and best practices to educate their staff about managing their personal finances, the importance of financial education for employees, and how such education initiatives can positively impact a company or organization.

Panelists are:

• Carlo de Bassa Scheresberg, Senior Research Associate, Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center.
• Angela Berg, Partner, Mercer Global.
• Michael Conway, Vice President, The Ayco Company, L.P.
• Evren Esen, Director of Survey Programs, Society for Human Resource Management.

The panel discussion will position workplaces as unique environments where effective financial education can take place. Research on financial education in the workplace is evolving, but it continues to show that improving how employees manage their finances can also enhance the company’s bottom line. Panel topics will include:

• What are the most common financial challenges faced by employees?
• Do personal financial challenges affect overall employee performance?
• Are employees currently faced with more personal financial challenges than before?
• What obstacles do organizations face when implementing financial wellness initiatives in the workplace?
• What data and processes should employers consider, beyond providing retirement plan information, when designing a financial wellness workplace initiative?

The Chicago Money Smart Week is part of a national Money Smart Week program that will offer more than 3000 free financial education classes and seminars to consumers in 45 states April 18-25. The classes are open to people of all ages at businesses, financial institutions, libraries and community organizations throughout the country. They will cover a wide variety of money-management topics including saving for college, buying a house, using credit wisely and managing student debt. Events are coordinated by more than 1,500 local partners and several national partners.

Money Smart Week is the broadest and most comprehensive financial education program in the country. Started in 2002 in Chicago, it has expanded significantly to become the only national program focused on a wide range of personal finance topics for all stages of life.

Consumers who are interested in finding out about classes in their area during Money Smart Week can visit moneysmartweek.org.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Background

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the nation’s central bank. The Chicago Reserve Bank serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which encompasses the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, southern Wisconsin, the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and the state of Iowa. In addition to participation in the formulation of monetary policy, each Reserve Bank supervises member banks and bank holding companies, provides financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government and monitors economic conditions in its District.