Great-West Life is adding a KOHO no-fee, full-service spending account to some of its retirement savings plans that are expected to give users insights into their spending habits and prompt positive changes.

The KOHO accounts are paired with a prepaid, reloadable VISA 0.5% cashback card. KOHO reports that within the first three weeks of using its app and card, average users reduce their spending by 15%.

Saving for retirement difficult for some people

“We know saving for retirement is tough for many people and we want to help Canadians find new ways to achieve this goal,” said Ryan Weiss, Vice-President, group customer product and experience at Great-West Life.

“What’s really unique about our collaboration with KOHO is that members using the prepaid Visa spending card will be able to sweep their 0.5% cashback rewards into their employer-sponsored retirement savings account. They can also choose to round-up every purchase to the next dollar and save the difference. It’s a great way to make saving for retirement an everyday event,” said Weiss.

The action is being taken now as part of Financial Literacy Month.

Cash flow management tools to be added

Plan sponsors that add KOHO to their Great-West Life retirement savings plans will be able to offer their members access to cash flow management tools to support their financial wellness in the short term, while also helping them to boost their longer-term savings for retirement, said Ryan Tevel, director of partnerships at KOHO.

In October, GWL Realty Advisors became the first plan sponsor to offer KOHO’s pre-paid Visa card to its employees through their Great-West Life retirement savings plan. The program will be open to additional plan sponsors starting in January 2020.