Japan Tobacco International (JTI) recognised that one of the most crucial elements of employee financial wellbeing is retirement preparation, which is why they implemented a financial wellbeing strategy that included financial education seminars and one-to-one support for those approaching retirement.

Vicki Hounsell, Compensation and Benefits Manager, JTI comments; “As part of our overall financial wellbeing strategy, we wanted to engage further with employees considering retiring within the next few years by providing support to help them make informed financial decisions in the years leading up to and at-retirement.”

She adds; “We launched our retirement seminar programme in 2017 with the help of WEALTH at work and have seen a very successful attendance rate of 83% of employees who were invited to attend a retirement planning seminar. This has demonstrated that our employees highly value these seminars to help inform them of the choices available at-retirement.”

A feedback form was provided to each employee after each seminar, with a 5 point scale from 1 (lowest/most negative) to 5 (highest/most positive response). On average, employees rated it as 4.8 out of 5 when asked if they would take specific financial actions as result of attending the seminar. When asked if they would recommend the session to a colleague a score of 4.9 was achieved.

We found that employees’ knowledge of the subject had improved from an average score of 2.7 prior to the seminar, to 4.5 out of 5 after the seminar. 72% of employees also asked for further guidance or regulated financial advice following the seminar.

Hounsell continues; “The opportunity for our employees to have access to a telephone helpline where they can speak to someone with regards to their own personal circumstances was very popular.

We are delighted with the retirement financial education programme WEALTH at work have developed for our employees and we see them as a key partner in our overall wellbeing strategy.”