Financial satisfaction of people in the U.S. rebounded strongly in the third quarter of the year, according to a new survey by the American Institute of CPAs, reversing the lows in the second quarter in the midst of the recession brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The AICPA’s Q3 2020 Personal Financial Satisfaction Index measured 33.1, representing a whopping 99 percent (16.5 point) increase from the previous quarter. That’s the biggest quarterly increase in the 27-year history of the PFSi, and a complete turnaround from the second quarter, when the index had its largest ever quarterly drop.
Craig Kurtzweil is the chief data and analytics officer at UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual. In this role, he is responsible for leveraging healthcare's largest data set to help enable informed health care decisions, ensuring consistency across internal and external reporting, exploring new ways to apply data through machine learning and artificial intelligence, and making data a competitive differentiator for UnitedHealthcare in the marketplace. He is known for his leadership in delivering compelling insight based on data and analytics in a narrative that supports the vision of helping people live healthier lives and making the health care system work better for everyone.
Craig joined the organization in 2005 to begin building a team of strategic customer analytics specialists. Since then, he has been focusing on enhancing the role that analytics plays in the ability to support National Accounts customers. Craig formed the Center for Advanced Analytics to focus on analytic innovations that change the way we evaluate health care value. His teams also focus on the largest and most complex clients that require a deeper and broader view of data, ranging from cost and utilization data to productivity and disability exposure. He is constantly working on the next generation of health care analytics.
Prior to joining UnitedHealthcare, Craig served as an actuarial consultant at Deloitte. Craig graduated University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in actuarial science. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, son and daughter.
Patty Starr is president and CEO of Health Action Council and is responsible for driving the strategic direction of the organization--build stronger, healthier communities where business can thrive. Since joining the Health Action Council staff in 2013, she has transformed the organization yielding broad national expansion and seven consecutive years of growth.
Patty is a member of the Advisory Board at the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Board of Directors for Health Policy Institute of Ohio (HPIO). She has also served on the Board of Directors for the Better Health Partnership, Ohio Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative and Health Action Council before becoming executive director in 2013. In 2022, she was named a Woman of Influence by Cleveland Business Journal, and in 2018, she was named among Notable Women in Healthcare by Crain's Cleveland Business.
Prior to Health Action Council, she was the senior director of health insurance and benefits at the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) and president and founder of The Ark Individual Insurance Brokerage.
Jennett Douglas is a senior client services manager for Felix. In her work, she utilizes a wealth of knowledge and experience in project management, research-based practices, human development and learning, and coaching.
The PFSi is built around various factors, including the labor market. The gains can be mainly attributed to improvements in job openings per capita and underemployment. Those had the biggest impact on increasing the overall PFSi. The biggest factor driving the quarter-over-quarter rally was a 35 percent (37 point) decrease in underemployment. A decrease in underemployment improves overall financial satisfaction in the index. While there was an improvement in underemployment in the third quarter from Q2’s record high, it’s still 117 percent above its level a year ago. For the second consecutive quarter, underemployment is still the biggest negative contributor to the average American’s personal financial satisfaction. The Q3 underemployment level reflects data measured through the middle of September.
“As Americans continue to navigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to remember that the fundamentals of financial planning haven’t changed,” said AICPA PFS Credential Committee chair Dave Stolz in a statement Thursday. “Though the stock market’s record performance is encouraging, 2020 has served as a reminder of the volatile nature of markets. As the impact of COVID-19 continues to play out across the country, investors should weigh their risk tolerance and ensure they have ample cash on hand. Further, a tax-efficient financial plan that includes a diversified portfolio can give confidence that long-term financial goals will remain within reach through this period of extreme uncertainty.”
The coronavirus put millions out of work, prompting job openings per capita to show a record plummet earlier this year. In the third quarter, job openings started to recover, climbing 37 percent (20 points) compared to Q2. That factor is now only 10 percent below its measurement a year ago before the pandemic. The Q3 index comes from July data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
