Fall is an exciting time for those of us in the benefits community. Apart from new hire onboarding, it may be the only time of year when workers are focused on their benefits, prompted by carefully crafted messages about open enrollment.

But as delighted as HR professionals may be to see increased engagement with their companies' retirement and health insurance plans, they need to confront a hard truth: for many low- and moderate-income (LMI) workers, cost is a prohibitive barrier to participating in these plans at all. The employee health premium may not be affordable for these families, while many LMI workers may not be able to afford a retirement contribution to trigger the employer match.

In a typical year, 25-40% of private sector LMI workers do not participate or enroll in these benefits, citing insufficient financial resources. In 2023, the challenge is magnified in light of ongoing economic pressures and the resumption of student loan payments–with as many as 40 million Americans responsible for those monthly debt payments once again.