Like many employers, you're probably keen to extend the flexibility and range of the benefits package you offer to your employees.

But you're concerned about administration complexity and the communications overhead involved. Employees could well be confused by the range of options open to them, and will find it difficult to compare the value of each of the benefits. You are concerned that, as a result, most of the expected gains in motivation and retention could be lost.

The OPTIO Interactive Financial Planner is a low cost consumer software package designed to overcome these issues. It helps employees understand and appreciate the true value of their benefits package and the contribution it can make to their personal financial goals. Concentrating on benefits such as pensions and life assurance, which are difficult to value, the IFP includes a complete set of state-of-the-art financial healthcheck programs which can be used by employees, without external assistance. The healthcheck programs allow employees to weigh up all of the demands on their finances and reach a balanced assessment of their needs.

Here's what some employees said in a recent trial:

"I thought it was very easy software to install and navigate through. The least appealing aspect was the "black holes" it revealed in my situation, but this was the truth and something that is usually pushed to the back of your mind until too late."

"A very useful tool which will be of benefit to a great many people. It takes a couple of hours to complete, but we probably all spend more time planning our summer holidays every year!"

"Found the pension planning tool really good. Certainly puts things into perspective if you want to retire early."

The IFP can be distributed to employees either on CDs or by intranet download. It runs on all current Microsoft Windows platforms and is simple and straightforward to install. Various levels of integration with administration systems are available, or the package can simply be used on its own.

Download the product overview to understand in more detail how OPTIO can help your employees get the most out of their benefits package, or contact us for further information.