Human Interest Offers ‘Cash Back’ Incentive to Retirement Savers

Digital platform 401(k) provider Human Interest announced it will offer a 3% cash back reward to participants who start saving for retirement.

Essentially acting as a match, the San Francisco-based company said the incentive is available to all eligible participants on its platform “making at or below the U.S. median wage of $60,000, putting cash directly in the wallets of American workers who need it most.”

Additionally, all Human Interest plan participants will get access to (k)ickstart, its financial wellness program.

The company claims research has shown that employees are significantly more concerned about their immediate financial commitments than saving for the long term, and almost 80% of Americans do not have sufficient funds for retirement. The cash incentive, therefore, is designed to increase participation rates in employer-sponsored retirement plans by helping to address near-term financial stressors.

“We see the urgent need for more working Americans to save for retirement,” Jeff Schneble, CEO of Human Interest, said in a statement. “We are using the same rewards model that people enjoy in their daily lives, akin to cash back credit cards, to encourage employees to actively save for a healthy retirement. That is why we are now the first and only retirement provider to offer a cash back program to incentivize individuals to save.”

The announcement is the latest in what the company said is “a growing list of industry-first moves,” including the elimination of transaction fees.

“This transformative mindset is empowering Human Interest’s rapid growth, with nearly 16,000 customers and $500 million in funding to date from investors including BlackRock, TPG’s The Rise Fund, and SoftBank Vision Fund,” it concluded. “In addition to the cash back program, Human Interest’s (k)ickstart initiative will provide a robust and engaging financial wellness curriculum to all its customers, giving them valuable tips and techniques to help them save for their future and achieve a financially secure retirement.”