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.
Sasha Leonhardt and Jon Langlois are partners and David McGee is a law clerk at Buckley LLP where they represent bank and nonbank mortgage originators, mortgage servicers, and secondary market purchasers in regulatory compliance, transactional, and enforcement matters.
Jeff is the Chief Innovation Officer at Transcarent, leading our efforts to design novel products and partnerships supporting our end-to-end Member support services. His interests span from furthering evidence-based health initiatives to innovative opportunities that deliver trusted, simple, seamless and connected solutions that drive value for our clients, Members and the providers themselves.
Prior to joining Transcarent, Jeff was the Health Strategy and Innovation Leader at Mercer Consulting. He was the Chief Medical Officer at One Medical, designing their innovative model of care and was responsible for the company’s B2B strategy. Jeff has also served as the Chief Medical Officer at RedBrick health where he was responsible for the company’s clinical programs (wellbeing, disease management, medication therapy management). Jeff led design, development and ongoing operations of the clinical and coaching programs as well as leading outcomes research for a range of population health programs.
Previously, he was a partner at Willis Towers Watson, where he was responsible for employer based health management programs, employer-provider contracting and onsite/near site clinics. He has operated a national group of 58 primary care medical practices, was Chief Medical Officer of an early ACO management firm and was an analyst at a hedge fund.
Jeff is a board-certified internist and rheumatologist and an Associate Professor at NYU School of Medicine.
Stephen Graziano is the director of channel sales at Flimp Communications. Prior to joining Flimp, Stephen spent most of his career working in the insurance consulting space, specifically in the voluntary insurance and benefits communication arenas. He is passionate about helping employees and employers have a better experience with their benefits through better understanding, higher engagement, and cost savings for both parties.
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.
