How to Use Your Workplace Benefits Without Getting Used

Accept the employee benefits that genuinely help you—but know what to pass on.

I’ve been saying this for years, going all the way back to MoneyTrack, my show on PBS: no matter where you work or how long you’ve been there, even when the company’s name is visible on the building, you really don’t work for that company. You work for “Me, Inc.” In other words, you work for yourself inside that company.

Keep that mindset when you log into your employee benefits portal and really get to know what’s there. Look beyond just your salary and health insurance. Get a good sense of retirement contributions and any employer matching, health savings accounts (which are triple tax free), and any free financial coaching programs designed to help reduce stress around money struggles, especially if you’re dealing with debt.

These benefits are right there hiding in plain sight, yet most people don’t touch them. Research from The Hartford found that 70% of employers say employees are not effectively taking advantage of the benefits available to them. Other surveys show that many employees don’t really understand what they have access to, which helps explain why participation stays low.

That’s money you may be leaving on the table.

For example, a typical retirement match of 3% to 6% can easily be worth $3,000 to $6,000 a year for someone earning $100,000. Over time, that alone adds up to six figures. Free financial coaching can save hundreds or thousands of dollars in outside fees. Emergency savings programs can prevent a single surprise expense from turning into high-interest credit card debt. Student loan assistance of even $100 or $200 a month can shave years off repayment. An HSA is one of the few benefits where contributing just a few thousand dollars a year can reduce your taxes now and create a dedicated, tax-free pool for healthcare costs in retirement.

All of that is truly useful. Helpful, even.

But what if you need real financial advice that goes beyond just what’s in your 401(k) menu?

So far, we’ve been talking about free workplace benefits designed to help you, things you should absolutely take advantage of because they put money back in your pocket and reduce financial stress. Now I’m switching gears to make you aware of what not to rely on. This is when that Me, Inc. mentality really matters.

There’s a whole different category of “financial guidance” that’s offered as investment or planning “recommendations” that feel just like the kind of personal financial advice you’d get from hiring your own financial advisor. But you need to know that recommendations that come from your plan’s representatives aren’t necessarily in your best financial interest.

Recordkeepers like Empower, Fidelity, and TIAA manage your retirement plan day to day. They know you only through what you’re doing inside that plan. And every day, they communicate with tens of millions of employees. Their systems are designed to stay in front of you. I talk to people all the time who tell me they’re getting four or five emails a week from their 401(k) record keeper promoting things like rollover solutions, managed accounts, and annuities — and that can feel a lot like very personal financial advice.

This is where I suggest you put yourself first and stop to ask the plan rep this simple question:

Is anyone here legally obligated to put my financial interests first? Are you acting as a fiduciary to the plan, or to me?

In other words, who is this recommendation designed to benefit most — me, or the provider offering it who makes money if I buy it?

Your plan’s record keeper works for the plan. Their legal obligation is to the retirement plan itself, not to you as an individual employee. That means their scope of help is severely restricted. They can explain what’s in your plan and how the tools work. That’s the boundary that few employees realize.

A big part of your financial life happens outside this one retirement account. Your taxes. Your spouse’s retirement plan. Your real estate. All your other savings, and most importantly, your future income and lifestyle after you leave this company. None of that is part of what they see.

It’s essential that you operate with this knowledge: plan representatives are allowed to recommend managed accounts, model portfolios, rollovers, and products that keep assets inside their system. It is not the same thing as financial advice.

No one is going to draw this boundary for you. You have to do it yourself. This is so important that I’ll repeat it again. Here’s your script:

Is anyone here legally obligated to act as fiduciary to me, and put my interests first — or are they acting as a fiduciary to the plan?

Unless the answer is “fiduciary only to me,” then it is not financial advice. It’s intended as education or as a product recommendation. But this is when you may need real financial advice from someone who is completely independent of their plan.

That means an advisor who is legally fiduciary to you alone. Someone who evaluates your whole financial life, including tax planning, Roth strategies, estate planning, and retirement income. A highly qualified, fee-only advisor who helps you understand how the decisions you’re making now affect the rest of your life, including whether you’re on track not to run out of money in retirement. (You can find an advisor like this in my Wealthramp network).

At that point, your most trusted resource isn’t a free employee benefit. So yes, use everything your employer offers that genuinely helps you. Take the match. Build savings. Learn what’s valuable to you. And ask questions.

Just be clear about what to accept and what to pass on. When you understand that boundary, that’s when you really start running Me, Inc. the way it deserves to be run.