New White Paper Explores Rapidly Changing Retirement Landscape

CHARLESTON, S.C. - May 29, 2018 - PRLog -- Today, Questis, a financial wellness technology (finwelltech) platform for advisors, is excited to announce a new white paper that explores the rapidly changing landscape of retirement and what it means for plan advisors and participants. The white paper was developed to publicize the imminent retirement crisis, ways for retirement plan participants to adapt, and how plan advisors can better understand the needs of participants.

"Based on current trends, Americans will be confronting rates of elder poverty in the not-too-distant future that haven't been seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s," says Martha Menard, PhD, senior researcher at Questis and author of the white paper. "The concept of retirement has changed dramatically in the decades since the introduction of the 401(k). As defined benefit plans have disappeared, employees have shouldered an increasing share of responsibility and risk in saving for retirement. But mounting evidence shows that defined contribution plans are not working. In response to changing concepts about what retirement means and could look like in the future, retirement planning is changing too."

Titled, "The New Retirement Narrative—And What Plan Advisors Need To Know," this white paper discusses the retirement crisis and what advisors can do to help plan participants address it. Topics covered include the surprising difference working longer can make, the increasingly important role of HSAs, special challenges that women face, and how technology can be an asset and differentiator for advisors.

"People need to really grasp that they're headed for crisis, why course correction is vital, and how to do so with confidence," said Steve Wilbourne, CEO of Questis. "All of that starts with technology and that's what we're doing - what we're building - at Questis. The next step is delivery, which is why we work closely with advisors and plan sponsors. At this point, they're the ones who can most directly deliver the tools and support people need to make change happen. Only then will we see the large scale change that we, as a society, need to save future retirees from living at a poverty level."

As a company dedicated to helping improve the level of satisfaction people feel about their finances, Questis closely monitors the financial wellness landscape for new data, information, and trends relating to financial stress and well-being. The retirement crisis is real, and the bottom line is that when 40% of Americans can't afford basic needs such as transportation and childcare, they're not saving for retirement. The purpose of our latest white paper: The New Retirement Narrative—And What Plan Advisors Need To Know, is to share our findings about how the concept of retirement is undergoing a profound transformation across multiple fronts. We invite you to take a detailed walk through the research to see how plan advisors can help participants be better prepared for what is likely to be an extended period of their lives.

To view and download the white paper, visit https://www.myquestis.com/white-paper-the-new-retirement

About The Author

Martha Brown Menard, PhD is a senior researcher at Questis. An award-winning healthcare researcher and author, Dr. Menard is a financial wellness coach and a member of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education. She is a guest lecturer at Georgetown University, and speaks frequently about women and financial wellness.

About Questis
Questis, a fully configurable financial wellness technology platform, allows retirement advisors and financial service providers to easily deliver personalized financial wellness programs to their plan sponsors and participants. Founded by experienced financial advisory professionals, Questis pairs the power of software with the customization required to fuel behavior change. With seamless integration tools, processes, and human experts, our platform makes financial wellness simple, available to every participant, and scalable. Now, anyone looking to offer financial wellness as a service can do so simply, and customized to their requirements and branding. Learn more at https://www.myquestis.com/