With a Spotlight on Employee Financial Security, UPS Works with Commonwealth, Partners in BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative, to Design & Implement In-Plan Emergency Savings.

BOSTON–Marking a major step forward for employers’ roles in worker financial security, global shipping and logistics provider UPS has announced the launch of an emergency savings program for its 90,000 US-based non-union employees, providing them with a way to set aside liquid after-tax savings easily and automatically as part of their 401(k) retirement plan administered by Voya Financial.

UPS, who joined BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative in 2019, collaborated closely with national nonprofit Commonwealth to design and implement the program, and will be the first employer in the Initiative to roll out an emergency savings program at scale. 

“Our research has shown time and again that when people are provided with opportunities and tools to save, they do,” said Commonwealth Co-Founder and Executive Director Timothy Flacke. “Through our original research into the needs of financially vulnerable workers and their employers, the team at Commonwealth has an intimate, data-driven understanding of effective programs and tools for improving financial security. We are thrilled to partner with UPS to apply our knowledge and experience to an emergency savings program of this scale.”

Employers’ role in employee financial security has been highlighted during the COVID economic crisis as nine in ten US employees report that COVID-19 is causing stress on their personal finances and research shows that stress costs employers $250 billion per year. Further, a recent Commonwealth and DCIIA Retirement Research Center study indicates that those who have emergency savings are half as likely to tap their retirement savings during COVID-19. 

“At UPS, we are committed to helping our employees save,” said B.J. Dorfman, Director of Global Retirement Strategy. “We value our workers and understand that their financial security is an important element of their success in the workplace and our success as a company. We are pleased to leverage the knowledge and experience that Commonwealth and BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative bring to create a program that will make it easier for employees to build an emergency fund.”

Commonwealth leveraged its 20 years of expertise in building and worked alongside Voya Financial, UPS’s 401(k) plan provider for the past 32 years for its non-union employees.

“At Voya, we recognize that individuals are juggling multiple financial priorities and competing needs for their income, but a lack of emergency savings can put one’s retirement at risk,” said Jeff Cimini, SVP, Retirement Product Management at Voya Financial. “With more individuals looking to their employer for their broad financial wellness needs, it’s important for employers to focus on ways they can help employees make the most out of their workplace savings plans. In collaboration with Commonwealth, we were able to help raise awareness of the in-plan, after-tax contribution option as an opportunity for UPS employees to save for emergency savings.”

Building on original consumer research that enables a deep understanding of low- and moderate-income needs, Commonwealth was able to work hand-in-hand with Voya and UPS to develop a solution and an awareness building campaign for UPS employees, and to modify the marketing and user experience for employees to help them understand how it works and be motivated to build savings.

“We launched BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative to make savings easier and frictionless for low- and moderate-income workers,” said BlackRock’s Global Head for Social Impact Deborah Winshel. “We are proud that the Initiative brought together partners like UPS and Voya to roll out a research-backed, data-driven solution to 90,000 employees, demonstrating that emergency savings can be provided at scale.”

About Commonwealth

Commonwealth strengthens the financial opportunity and security of financially vulnerable people by discovering ideas, piloting solutions, and driving innovations to scale. For nearly two decades, Commonwealth has designed effective innovations, products, and policies enabling over 750,000 people to accumulate more than $3 billion in savings. Commonwealth understands broad changes require market players to act. That’s why we collaborate with consumers, the financial services industry, fintechs, employers, policy-makers and mission-driven organizations. The solutions we build are grounded in real life, based on our deep understanding of people who are financially vulnerable and how businesses can best serve them. For more information, visit www.buildcommonwealth.org.

About UPS

UPS (NYSE: UPS) is one of the world’s largest package delivery companies with 2019 revenue of $74 billion, and provides a broad range of integrated logistics solutions for customers in more than 220 countries and territories. The company’s more than 500,000 employees embrace a strategy that is simply stated and powerfully executed: Customer First. People Led. Innovation Driven. UPS is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and supporting the communities we serve around the world. UPS also takes a strong and unwavering stance in support of diversity, equality, and inclusion. The company can be found on the Internet at www.ups.com, with more information at www.pressroom.ups.com and www.investors.ups.com.

About BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative

BlackRock announced a $50 million commitment to help millions of people living on low to moderate incomes gain access to and increase usage of proven savings strategies and tools – ultimately helping them establish an important safety net. The size and scale of the savings problem requires the knowledge and expertise of established industry experts that are recognized leaders in savings research and interventions on an individual and corporate level. Led by its Social Impact team, BlackRock is partnering with innovative industry experts Common Cents Lab, Commonwealth, and the Financial Health Network to give the initiative a comprehensive and multilayered approach to address the savings crisis. Payroll providers, recordkeepers, employers and fintechs have joined BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative to help their employees, customers, and constituents take the essential first step toward long-term financial well-being.

About Voya Financial®

Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), helps Americans plan, invest and protect their savings — to get ready to retire better. Serving the financial needs of approximately 13.8 million individual and institutional customers in the United States, Voya is a Fortune 500 company that had $7.5 billion in revenue in 2019. The company had $606 billion in total assets under management and administration as of June 30, 2020. With a clear mission to make a secure financial future possible — one person, one family, one institution at a time — Voya’s vision is to be America’s Retirement Company®. Certified as a “Great Place to Work” by the Great Place to Work® Institute, Voya is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible. Voya has been recognized as a 2020 World’s Most Admired Company by Fortune magazine; one of the 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies® by the Ethisphere Institute; as a member of the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index; and as a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” on the Disability Equality Index by Disability:IN. For more information, visit voya.com. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @Voya.