Benefits September 21, 2023

Delta Debuts Financial Wellness Program for Non-US Employees

In a partnership with Nudge Global, Delta will offer a new financial education program and reward workers with the local equivalent of $1,000.

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Delta Air Lines introduced a new financial wellness program to its international employees, allowing workers to earn up to $1,000, the company announced this week.

Delta created the global program in partnership with financial wellness platform Nudge Global, operating alongside Delta’s emergency savings and financial education program for domestic employees, the post stated.

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“As with our culture of safety and service, Delta’s desire to support the well-being of our people spans every corner of our global network,” stated Joanne Smith, Delta’s executive vice president and chief people officer. “Financial wellness plays a major role in everyone’s overall health and wellness, which is why we are thrilled to offer a financial education program that caters to our hardworking Delta people based around the world.”  

The global program will be available to all international employees below the director level. The program offers localized financial education courses and a monetary incentive equivalent to $1,000 in buying power, the post added.

To participate, employees must create a confidential online financial wellness assessment—a financial health checkup—and complete 11 personalized financial wellness courses, or ‘stories’, Delta stated.  

The incentive is broken down into two equal payouts: 

  • Employees receive the first payout after completing the financial health checkup and five ‘stories’; and
  • Employees receive the second payout after completing an additional six courses. 

Where allowable by law, Delta will pay estimated taxes on the employee’s behalf so they can benefit from the entirety of the financial incentive, the firm stated.  

Delta introduced its emergency savings and financial education program for U.S. employees in partnership with Fidelity Financial and Operation Hope, in January.

Domestic employees enrolled in the program increased their 401(k) contributions following the launch: 23% of employees who completed the program have increased their 401(k) contribution percentage, compared with just 10% of those who have not engaged in the program, according to a Delta representative.

Compliance September 21, 2023

Democrats Introduce Bill to Protect Social Security Benefits From Student Loan Garnishment

Student loan payments are set to restart in October, and some collecting Social Security could soon see their benefits garnished.

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Democrats in both houses of Congress introduced a bill last Thursday that would protect Social Security benefits from being garnished from those struggling to repay federal student loans, which are scheduled to resume in October.

The bill is called the Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration Act and is sponsored by eight senators and seven representatives, all Democrats except Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont. Motivated primarily by student loan debt payments restarting after a COVID-19 pandemic hiatus, the bill, if passed, would prevent the federal government from seizing Social Security benefits to pay any non-tax debt owed to the federal government.

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Railroad and black lung benefits would also be insulated from garnishment for non-tax federal debt.

The sponsors of the bill cite a 2016 report from the Government Accountability Office which identified 3.5 million Americans age 60 and older holding student debt adding up to approximately $125 billion.

According to the same report, from 2001 to 2015, 186,000 Americans younger than 50 and 2,524 Americans older than 65 had Social Security disability benefits garnished to pay back student loans, and 64,197 Americans over the age of 65 had their retirement or survivor benefits garnished. Anybody receiving Social Security benefits could be subject to garnishment if they have outstanding federal debt payments.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, the House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Ways and Means due to overlapping areas of jurisdiction.

Unless it is attached to a budget bill by the end of September, it will be unlikely to pass before the Department of Education resumes debt collection in October, with exact dates varying based on each account’s existing schedule. Even if the bill is attached, it is far from certain the federal budget will be passed in time.

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