How Financial Advisors Use Financial Wellness to Grow 401(k) Plans
In today’s competitive financial advisory market, offering strong investment strategies alone may not be enough to differentiate your practice. Employers are increasingly seeking advisors who offer holistic retirement plan solutions—plans that not only manage assets but also enhance employee engagement and encourage healthier financial habits.
- Why financial wellness is becoming an expectation in 401(k) plans.
- Four ways financial wellness programs help advisors grow their practice.
- How to view financial wellness as a value-add, not a competitor, to your role.
Recent research reflects this shift:
- 50 percent of organizations are interested in adding financial wellness services in the next 12-24 months1
- 72 percent of employers view financial wellness as critical to workforce well-being2
- More than 80 percent of plan sponsors now recognize they have a responsibility to support employee financial wellness3
This trend reflects a growing recognition that financial stress can affect employee productivity and retention, making wellness programs a strategic priority for many employers.
By integrating financial wellness into your 401(k) offerings, you can offer a more comprehensive, value-aligned solution that may help differentiate your advisory business and support stronger client relationships.
How financial wellness programs help advisors grow their practice
More employers are recognizing the importance of a financially confident workforce and evaluating whether their retirement plan partners can support that goal. For financial advisors, offering retirement plans paired with financial wellness isn’t just a nice-to-have; it helps demonstrate a broader understanding of employee needs—from budgeting and saving to long-term retirement planning.
This allows advisors to reinforce their role in guiding plan design and investment oversight. By offering solutions that include financial wellness support as part of your 401(k) strategy, you can position yourself as a forward-thinking advisor who aligns with evolving employer expectations and supports more meaningful client conversations.
Four key benefits of financial wellness for advisors
Integrating financial wellness into your retirement plans may offer several potential benefits for advisors, including:
1. Supports stronger participant engagement within the 401(k) plan
Financial confidence can influence how employees interact with their retirement plan. Financial wellness programs are designed to help employees better understand key financial concepts, which may encourage healthier plan behaviors over time.
Industry research shows that financial wellness initiatives are often associated with2:
- higher participation rates,
- increased deferrals,
- fewer loans or early withdrawals, and
- stronger perceptions of retirement readiness.
Additional findings show that plans with financial wellness support experience up to 22 percent higher participation rates and 18 percent higher average deferral rates2. These insights may help advisors demonstrate how financial wellness resources align with employer goals around engagement and overall plan health. Within Ascensus plans, 71% of employees experiencing little or no financial stress are contributing enough to receive the full company retirement match, whereas only 44% of those facing overwhelming or high financial stress get the same benefit4.
2. Complements, rather than replaces, your advisory role
Advisors sometimes question whether financial wellness programs overlap with the services they provide. These programs are designed to complement, not replace, advisory guidance by helping employees build foundational financial knowledge and gain more confidence in their financial decision-making.
When employees have a clearer understanding of budgeting, debt management, savings strategies, and overall financial well-being, you can focus your conversations on plan strategy, plan design, and investment oversight—areas where employers often rely on your expertise.
Financial wellness programs may also make these discussions more productive by giving employees a baseline understanding before meeting with you—helping you amplify your impact.
3. Influences key plan health indicators
Financial wellness programs are not a guarantee of improved outcomes, but industry research suggests they are often associated with stronger plan health metrics. Employers that offer financial wellness benefits often observe3:
- higher enrollment and deferral activity,
- fewer early withdrawals and plan loans, and
- stronger overall retirement readiness scores.
These insights can help illustrate the value you bring as an advisor when helping employers evaluate their retirement plan strategy. Plans that incorporate financial wellness resources may better resonate with employers’ evolving expectations for a competitive, well-rounded benefits packages.
Imagine a scenario where your client is considering multiple advisors to manage their retirement plan. Offering a 401(k) that includes a structured financial wellness program can help differentiate your approach and show alignment with what many decision-makers are prioritizing today.
4. Helps you win and retain business
Advisors who integrate financial wellness programs into their retirement plan offerings may gain a competitive advantage when pursuing new business or maintaining existing client relationships. Potential benefits may include:
- standing out in RFPs and finalist meetings
- aligning with HR and leadership goals for workforce engagement and satisfaction, and
- supporting long-term client retention.
Employers increasingly prioritize advisors who bring strategic solutions that extend beyond investment management. By offering a retirement plan bundled with financial wellness services, you position yourself as a partner who understands broader employee engagement and retention goals. This may align your approach with the objectives of HR leaders, business owners, C-suite decision-makers, and other key stakeholders.
How wellness-driven 401(k) plans help you grow your practice
Offering a retirement plan with financial wellness capabilities allows you to provide your clients with more than a standard 401(k) experience. Instead, you can offer a more comprehensive retirement solution that may better align with employer priorities around workforce well-being.
Research commonly associates financial wellness initiatives with3:
- Healthier participant behaviors, such as consistent saving, reduced early withdrawals, and stronger perceptions of retirement readiness.
- Higher employee satisfaction, as financially confident employees often report lower stress levels and greater focus at work.
- Stronger positioning with employers, as financial wellness resources demonstrate your ability to address both plan design and workforce well-being considerations.
- Differentiation from competitors, helping set you apart from advisors who focus solely on traditional investment solutions.
By adopting wellness-driven 401(k) plans, you’re not just managing assets—you’re helping clients consider plan features designed to encourage healthier financial habits that can potentially benefit both employees and the organization.
Elevate your 401(k) strategy with wellness-driven solutions
Financial wellness is becoming a core expectation in modern retirement planning, and advisors who integrate financial wellness into their 401(k) strategy may be better positioned to meet employer needs and strengthen their advisory relationships. Wellness-driven 401(k) plans help support healthier participant behaviors, offer a more holistic benefits experience, and contribute to deeper client engagement.
Partnering with Ascensus can help you deliver this broader value. With scalable, advisor-aligned retirement solutions that integrate with Financial Finesse, the industry’s leading provider of independent and unbiased financial coaching, you can reinforce your role in guiding plan strategy while offering resources designed to support employee financial well-being. This integrated experience may enhance your conversations with employers, strengthen long-term relationships and help differentiate your approach in a competitive market.
With Ascensus and Financial Finesse, you can:
- Offer wellness-integrated retirement plans that align with employer expectations
- Support employee financial health without replacing your advisory role
- Leverage research showing that wellness-integrated plans tend to see more favorable plan health indicators
- Stand out in RFPs and retention meetings with strategic value-driven solutions
- Scale your advisory business across small and large employer groups
Ready to strengthen your advisory value, deepen client relationships, and differentiate your services?
Discover how our integrated Financial Wellness Solutions can help you deliver smarter, scalable 401(k) plans to your clients.
1Ascensus, 2024-2025 Compensation, Retirement, and Benefits Survey: Executive Summary. https://www.retsupport.com/resources/pdfs/2024-25-Ascensus-Compensation-Retirement-and-Benefits-Survery-Executive-Summary.pdf
2Mercer, 2025 Financial Wellness Survey. https://www.mercer.com/assets/us/en_us/shared-assets/local/attachments/pdf-survey-report-2025.pdf
3J.P. Morgan Asset Management, 2025 Defined Contribution Plan Sponsor Survey, as reported by PLANSPONSOR, February 2025. https://www.plansponsor.com/plan-sponsors-demonstrate-increased-commitment-to-financial-wellness/
4Financial Finesse Think Tank, Ascensus Data as of 10/31/2025