eMoney Advisor (eMoney), a leading provider of technology solutions and services that help people talk about money, announced the launch and general availability of Incentive, a client-led financial planning and wellness application.
Following a successful beta program with six participating firms, Incentive is available now for use through retirement plan advisors.
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The self-led planning and budgeting tool – and eMoney’s first mobile app – is aimed at educating a broad audience about basic planning concepts and encouraging behavioral changes to help users achieve their goals in engaging and actionable ways. Based on the notion that everyone has a motivation or incentive to become financially healthy, Incentive offers a tool for advisors to differentiate themselves and connect with a large and economically diverse market. Designed to create a streamlined user experience, the app motivates the participant to make incremental improvements by accessing basic financial pillars and rules of thumb, spending challenges and relevant financial literacy topics.
“It’s our goal at eMoney to increase access to personalized financial planning experiences and provide a full spectrum of planning solutions to our clients,” said Chad Porche, VP of Product Innovation at eMoney. “Incentive is a valuable app for those who are looking to get started and stay on track with their finances, and it enables our advisors to service this broad and diverse audience in a scalable way. We received great feedback from our beta users, and we’re excited to introduce Incentive to the broader market.”
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Brad Arends, CEO of intellicents and a beta user of Incentive, added: “Incentive will allow us to deliver a financial plan to every participant, not just the wealthiest 1% of Americans. It combines great technology that engages the user, motivates them to add additional information, and provides direct access to one of our professional advisors when they desire.”
The launch of Incentive comes at a time where Americans’ finances have been crowned the biggest stressor of 2020[1] amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent survey carried out by eMoney Advisor.
When asked what caused people the most stress, 40% of U.S. adults said their finances, followed by work (33%) and relationships (16%). The impact of this financial stress was also found to be far-reaching, affecting respondents’ overall mental, physical, and relationship health.
In terms of seeking any help, of all those who said their mental, physical or relational health[2] has worsened as a result of their financial situation in 2020, only, 28% have sought help from their financial advisor. Additionally, nearly a third (32%) of respondents said that not being able to find reliable and sound financial advice, as well as a lack of understanding or financial education were their biggest barriers to achieving financial wellness, which underscores the need for a resource like Incentive to help individuals take control of their financial health and wellness.
Incentive is available for download in the App Store and Google Play. To get started, users receive a special access code from their retirement plan advisor or employer and then input their age and income for access to a target plan. Based on the plan that is provided, users are informed of whether they’re on or off track in five areas of planning basics: Retirement, Emergency Savings, Budget, Debt, and Insurance. If a user is off track, the app supports the user by providing actionable, clear next steps.
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