SupportPay, the only co-parenting solution that manages child support payments, expenses, custody, and communication, today announced its unique and innovative benefits program for employers. A first-of-its-kind for employee benefits, SupportPay is specifically built to help working parents before, during, and after divorce. Companies partner with SupportPay to provide employees and their co-parents with free access to the platform with the goal of alleviating many of the financial and emotional stressors that stem from divorce and co-parenting. For four years, SupportPay has become a trusted payment platform for today’s modern parents to make or receive child support and/or alimony payments, manage shared child expenses, centralize communications, and organize schedules through a web and mobile app.
Divorce is the second most stressful life event after the death of a spouse. However, employers rarely offer services or resources to help their employees navigate this significant life event. A survey from Good Housekeeping in partnership with SupportPay found that divorce doesn’t just impact the employee. Its effects ripple throughout the entire company. In fact, the survey found that 70% of the workforce is impacted by divorce at any given time. Moreover, employees going through a divorce experience lost productivity for more than one year (81%), increased absenteeism (73%), and a decline in health and financial wellbeing (67%).
“The pandemic was a hardship for working parents, and it highlighted the struggles these employees are facing,” said Sheri Atwood, founder and CEO of SupportPay. “In response, we’ve seen forward-thinking companies implement supportive family benefits, such as expanding paid family leave, paid adoption leave, and fertility treatment coverage, to name a few. However, companies are leaving behind employees who are struggling during and after divorce or separation. With SupportPay, we hope to address this gap in benefits and help working parents navigate divorce, co-parenting, and the complexities that come with it while helping companies be at the forefront of employee benefits.”
SupportPay’s benefits program was successfully launched and offered to all 12,000 employees at Hearst Corporation, one of the world’s largest media publishers. The company is helping Hearst to expand their family-friendly policies to accommodate different life stages, including divorce.
“At Hearst, we are always looking for new opportunities to support employees at all stages of life, which is why we are proud to offer SupportPay as a benefit to support parents who are navigating the stress during and after a divorce or separation,” said Maria Walsh, senior vice president and head of global benefits at Hearst. “Going through a divorce can be a stressful and emotional time, impacting mental health, financial wellness, and productivity. It's important for our company to show our employees that we care about their well-being and are committed to supporting them through any of life's challenges. I've been working in the benefits industry for more than 25 years, and I am thankful for companies like SupportPay that are pushing the industry to evolve and solve for the needs of individuals, and more importantly, families everywhere."
SupportPay helps companies by:
- Providing an inexpensive self-service benefit that can be rolled out quickly, at any time, and is not tied to annual enrollment.
- Mitigating productivity losses by helping employees retain focus and eliminate workplace errors during the workday.
- Reducing absenteeism arising from financial, legal, and health complications of the many compounding stressful components during and after divorce.
- Demonstrating an innovative commitment to employee financial and mental well-being for all employees.
- Reducing payroll admin costs incurred by wage garnishment and child support orders.
- Protecting company security by keeping this confidential and private information off of company servers and infrastructure while meeting the strict security standards companies require.
- Offering customized training and dedicated customer support to educate employees on SupportPay’s solution and assist in account setup and training.
To learn more, please visit www.supportpay.com/employee-benefits.
