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© Copyright 2000 Rogers Media. The following article first appeared in the May 2001 edition of
BENEFITS CANADA magazine.
E-Poll
How would you rate the numeracy skills of your plan members?
Sponsors of benefits and pension plans--particularly defined contribution plans and health spending accounts
where significant choice is offered to plan members--face big challenges in educating their employees about
these benefits. Not only must plan sponsors offer educational material that's accurate and engaging, they must
also ensure educational materials are understood by a wide range of employees who have different levels of
numeracy and literacy skills.
This month's E-poll asked plan sponsors to rate the numeracy skills of their plan members. Just over half
(53%) say members' numeracy skills are fair, while 27% say numeracy skills among plan members are poor.
Only 20% of respondents say their plan members' numeracy skills are good.
"One thing plan sponsors can do is just assume that their employee base has some representation of
employees who would be struggling with financial concepts," says Mary De Paoli, vice-president, national
sales and marketing, group retirement services, with Sun Life Financial in Toronto. "The one thing that
seems to work very well with people who feel challenged by numeracy or literacy deficiencies is [financial]
advice, working with a financial planner. They need the one-on-one interaction, and someone they can trust
who can execute instructions on their behalf."
According to Statistics Canada, 22% of adult Canadians have serious problems dealing with printed
materials.
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