Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), announced today the launch of a new online, interactive budgeting calculator. As one of the latest enhancements to the company’s suite of digital retirement and financial wellness experiences, the new budgeting capability provides an engaging experience aimed at helping individuals create a monthly budget for spending and saving — including emergency funds.
Voya’s new budgeting calculator is built on the “50/30/20” approach as an opportunity to help ease individuals into the budgeting process. Specifically, this approach provides a simple rule of thumb suggesting that individuals put up to 50% of one’s after-tax income toward their needs (such as housing, utilities, healthcare, childcare, etc.), 30% toward “wants” (such as entertainment, dining, hobbies and splurges) and 20% toward saving — which includes: retirement, rainy-day needs like an emergency fund, and other savings goals such as vacation and travel.
“At Voya, we understand that creating a budget is an important foundational step when it comes to achieving overall financial wellness,” said Amy Vaillancourt, SVP, Workplace Solutions and Experience at Voya Financial. “We also understand that being financially well can mean different things to different individuals. But our goal is to help everyone achieve a state of mental well-being where individuals feel they have control over their current finances, are prepared for the unexpected and have confidence in their financial future, which is why creating a budget can be so valuable.”
According to Voya research, consumers appreciate that retirement plan provider websites consolidate many resources into one easily accessible location as the combination of capabilities and information provides convenient opportunities for them to take action, such as making changes to one’s retirement account or learning more about future income projections.1 With this insight as a backdrop, the new tool provides easy-to-use functionality, which allows individuals to create a balanced budget based on their unique needs and priorities.
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This includes providing informative actions that can help them to achieve their savings goals. Once an individual provides the necessary information, including income, within the tool, they are provided with a “50/30/20” budget, and are encouraged to personalize their results by providing information about their individual “needs,” “wants,” and “savings.” The results are available for download for easy sharing with family members or a financial professional. In addition to providing an opportunity to fine-tune and adjust as one’s needs change, the tool also provides an opportunity for broader education on practical tips to help balance one’s budget and stretch their income.
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