Payroll
Check | January 25, 2024
Novo, the powerfully simple® financial solutions platform for small businesses, announced Novo Payroll. Working with Check, the leading payroll infrastructure company that pioneered the ability for platforms to embed payroll into their products, Novo has launched a payroll solution that is fully integrated into Novo’s platform of small business banking, budgeting, and working capital solutions, enabling small businesses to manage their finances from a single platform.
“Traditional small business payroll solutions consist of standalone applications characterized by high fees, burdensome cash-on-hand requirements, and either clunky or non-existent integrations between payroll and business bank accounts,” said Michael Rangel, founder and CEO of Novo. “In collaboration with Check, we built a payroll solution that simplifies and speeds up the process of paying small business employees."
Novo leveraged Check’s embedded payroll API to build Novo Payroll. With coverage in all 50 states, Novo Payroll streamlines the entire payroll process, from calculating wages to facilitating direct deposits and managing tax withholdings. This provides businesses with a comprehensive payroll solution that not only reduces administrative burdens but also ensures accuracy and compliance with regulatory standards.
Novo has conducted a beta of Novo Payroll, and will make the product available to Novo’s more than 200,000 small business customers in the coming weeks. Key features of Novo Payroll include
Affordable, flat-rate pricing: Unlike other payroll platforms where individuals have to pay extra for a range of features, Novo offers all of its essential features — including state and tax filings, end of year reports, and more — at $35 per month plus a small fee per worker.
Working capital for payroll: Small businesses who may need additional funds for a payroll cycle can apply for Novo Funding, a fast and flexible way to access working capital that’s available exclusively to Novo customers. Once approved for Novo Funding, customers can use the capital in minutes.
Next day payments: With Novo Payroll, recipients can opt in to receive their paychecks the day after payroll is processed at no additional charge. Instead of needing the necessary payroll funds days in advance, small business owners simply need to have funds available the day of payroll processing.
Built-in accounting and budgeting tools: Since Novo Payroll is fully embedded into the Novo platform, customers can seamlessly set aside funds for payroll, taxes, savings, and more using Novo Reserves.
Single- and multi-state payroll: Novo Payroll automates state tax filings for small businesses that have employees in a single state, as well as in multiple states.
Human-powered customer service: Novo Payroll customers have access to a range of resources to assist with payroll questions, including the option to call a Novo Payroll expert.
“We founded Check with the goal of making payroll easier for as many small businesses as possible. By partnering with Novo, we’re able to reach an even broader set of businesses, giving them the tools they need to save time and money on what is all-too-often a cumbersome task,” said Andrew Brown, co-founder and CEO of Check. “Novo has already burnished its credentials as a leading provider of financial services for small businesses. By embedding Check’s payroll, Novo is able to provide a one-stop-shop for small business financial needs.”
Novo Payroll is the latest in a series of products Novo has built for its small business financial solutions platform. Recently, Novo announced a range of updates to Novo Invoices, the company’s free invoicing application that small businesses have used to receive more than $500 million in payments. Novo also announced Novo Funding, offering small businesses a fast and flexible way to access working capital.
About Novo
Novo Platform, Inc. (“Novo”) is the powerfully simple financial platform for small businesses.
About Check
Check is the leading payroll platform that pioneered the ability for companies to differentiate and open up new revenue streams by embedding payroll into their platforms. Historically, complex regulatory structures stagnated payroll innovation, making it harder for businesses to create their own payroll offerings. By building on Check’s best in class infrastructure, flexible API, and deep expertise, platforms can launch profitable payroll businesses much faster, and with little overhead or administrative burden.
Since Check’s public launch in January 2021, leading vertical SaaS companies and large scale workforce management horizontal platforms have built successful payroll businesses on its infrastructure. Check’s partners collectively serve more than 250,000 businesses and over 4 million employees. Check is backed by Stripe, Thrive Capital, Index Ventures, and Bedrock.
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Recruitment & Retention
Principal Financial Group® | January 16, 2024
The picture of retirement is evolving with more Americans turning 65 in 2024 than any year1 before. According to new research from Principal Financial Group®, expectations around how and when to retire by generation vary greatly – placing increased focus on employee engagement and personalized investment strategies to help improve financial security and retirement readiness.
Phased retirement appeals to younger workers who want to retire earlier
According to the Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM, among Americans in the workforce, gradually decreasing hours is the most desired way to retire (52%) and is most preferred by Generation X (67%) and millennials (56%). Baby boomers and Generation Z report similarities in how they want to retire, with nearly half preferring to move immediately from working full-time to not working at all. This echoes the most common approach taken by current retirees surveyed2, a group in which just over one quarter (28%) either transitioned careers or gradually phased down from their primary career.
“Attitudes and expectations for retirement continue to evolve, and we expect the desire to approach retirement in phases will continue to grow with future generations,” said Chris Littlefield, president of Retirement and Income Solutions at Principal®.
While there are some similarities in how generations want to retire, they have different expectations on timelines and the age at which they plan to retire. The youngest generation, Gen Z, expects to retire at 55 – approximately 10 years earlier than baby boomers (68) and Gen X (64), and four years sooner than millennials (59).
Employees prioritize saving for retirement
The survey revealed employees are focused on balancing basic needs with long-term savings outcomes against a backdrop of ongoing economic pressures that continue to top their list of concerns. Employees of all generations ranked saving for retirement as their top financial priority, followed by affording basic needs and paying off consumer debt3.
"Saving for retirement is the No. 1 financial priority for employees surveyed, which validates that access to workplace benefits and financial wellness programs is helping Americans save for retirement and achieve better financial outcomes,” Littlefield said. “Going forward, increased personalization as well as tailored savings and investment strategies that take into account an individual’s financial goals, lifestyle, health care needs, dependent care obligations, retirement income expectations, and other unique factors will help achieve improved financial security in retirement.”
Retention and recruitment of older employees critical for business success
Employee interest in phased retirement has added value for employers. Most employers (77%) agree that the knowledge older employees have about their company is crucial to their business’s success. Employers concerned with “having valuable employees retire” are more likely to take actions to either retain them or hire employees who previously retired from other companies.
Despite this, not all employers have experience with offering phased retirement. Only 11% of small and midsized businesses4 reported they offer phased retirement job opportunities on a regular basis compared to nearly one quarter of large businesses5. However, interest is there, as 61% of businesses that don’t offer a phased retirement still receive questions from employees about the options.
See all results and insights from the latest Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM (PDF).
According to the Alliance for Lifetime Income
This wave included a survey of 137 individuals between the ages of 50 and 75 who consider themselves retired or have previously fully retired and gone back to work.
In order to be included in the survey sample, employees must work full-time, and their employer has to offer either health insurance or retirement as an employee benefit.
Businesses with 2-499 employees
Businesses with 500-10,000 employees
About the Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM
The Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM surveys business owners, decision makers and business leaders aged 21 and over who work at companies with 2-10,000 employees and offer either health insurance or retirement as an employee benefit. The nation-wide survey, commissioned since 2012, examines the financial well-being of American workers and business employers. In 2020, the Well-Being Index was transformed from an annual survey to a regular pulse, offering three waves, revisiting questions and measuring sentiment regarding timely issues in the small and midsized business marketplace. In the first pulse of the Well-Being Index in 2022, the employee audience was added to the survey to compare and contrast key sentiment from employers. The survey was commissioned by Principal® and conducted online by Dynata from November 6-13, 2023, with a total of 500 business owners, decision makers and business leader participants and a total of 200 employee participants. This wave included a survey of 127 individuals who consider themselves retired or have previously fully retired and gone back to work. The research report focuses on providing a holistic perspective on key trends and timely issues in the small and medium business market.
About Principal Financial Group®
Principal Financial Group® is a global financial company with 19,500 employees1 passionate about improving the wealth and well-being of people and businesses. In business for more than 140 years, we’re helping more than 61 million customers1 plan, protect, invest, and retire, while working to support the communities where we do business, and build a diverse, inclusive workforce. Principal® is proud to be recognized as one of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere2, a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and a “Best Places to Work in Money Management3.”
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Employee Benefits
Employee Navigator | January 10, 2024
Employee Navigator, one of the nation's leading benefits and HR solutions for brokers, and MGIS, a national insurance manager offering specialized insurance programs for doctors, have announced a new partnership to bring leading-edge HR and benefits technology integrations to doctor group practices. The new partnership builds on MGIS's relationship with Reliance Matrix, a leading benefits and absence provider, and its unique Employee Navigator integration.
"We believe the partnership with Employee Navigator will transform the employer and employee benefits experience," said Jeff Brunken, President of MGIS. "Through our relationship with Employee Navigator, our mutual clients will benefit from the technology-enabled efficiencies and ease of business that are so important in today's insurance marketplace. These integrations will help to drive participant engagement and client retention for our benefit brokers."
Through the Employee Navigator relationship, MGIS clients will benefit from a dedicated support team that will help brokers build out a full-service enrollment experience and provide additional case management support, at no additional cost. As always, MGIS account managers also provide white-glove, specialized account management and billing support, all critical features for brokers and administrators.
"MGIS has a long history of offering the highest quality insurance program for doctors. We're confident that our customers will receive an enhanced benefits experience through MGIS and Employee Navigator," said George Reese, CEO of Employee Navigator. "This partnership provides seamless, integrated benefits administration and will lead to a positive enrollment experience for brokers, employers and participants."
In 2023 MGIS announced its exclusive partnership with Reliance Matrix, a national leader in benefits solutions and absence management. Together, MGIS and Reliance Matrix serve doctors in all practice settings and medical specialties. An Employee Navigator carrier partner since 2022, Reliance Matrix more than doubled the number of benefit plans and employer clients enrolled and managed on the Employee Navigator platform in 2023, through more than 150 unique broker partners.
"Employee Navigator has played a big part in our overall success in the small and midsize employer market, thanks in part to our unique streamlined billing solution available on the platform," said Paula Hanson, AVP Benefit Technology Solutions for Reliance Matrix. "Our proprietary process raised the bar on service and convenience and continues to win fans among brokers and clients."
Marketed through independent brokers and agents, benefit solutions include Disability Guard for Doctors™, a unique long-term disability product blending the highly valued policy provisions of an individual product with the guaranteed issue and simplified administration of a group long-term disability plan, as well as short-term disability, group life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment plans.
MGIS also supports a High Limits Disability Insurance program, offering an increased level of protection for high earners, providing more robust and holistic protection for doctors above and beyond any group long-term disability and individual disability coverage. For those groups offering the high limits program, this specialized product will also be available on Employee Navigator as part of an integrated, holistic enrollment experience.
About MGIS
MGIS is a leading national insurance program manager experienced in building and managing specialized insurance programs for doctors. MGIS partners with highly rated insurers and focuses on disability and life insurance for practices of all sizes, types, and medical specialties. Insurance policies managed by MGIS are backed by the underwriting companies of Reliance Matrix and Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, and are marketed exclusively through select brokers and insurance advisers. MGIS services are provided by MGIS affiliated companies: The MGIS Companies, Inc., Medical Group Insurance Services, Inc., and MGIS Underwriting Managers, Inc.
About Employee Navigator
Employee Navigator is a rapidly growing benefits and HR software company integrated with over 400+ of the nation's leading insurance carriers, payroll companies, and TPA's. Its platform delivers brokers and employers a truly connected digital experience, streamlining the management of everything from online enrollment and onboarding to ACA reporting, time off tracking, and more. The company currently works with more than 5,000 brokers, providing benefits administration and HR products to over 175,000 companies and 14+ million employees and dependents.
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