Plant the Seeds for Retirement: Register for Duke Financial Fitness Week

With 16 live webinars from Sept. 11-14, Financial Fitness Week sessions will offer staff and faculty strategies for financial success regardless of age

Coins sprouting plants.

Rita Winsor, Chief Human Resources Officer for Duke University Health System Clinical Laboratories, went to her first Financial Fitness Week event at Duke 14 years ago.

Having worked in human resources for decades, Winsor felt well-versed in retirement benefits. However, attending a retirement planning seminar provided her with fresh insights and thought-provoking questions. She found the event beneficial because it clarified Duke's retiree health benefits eligibility criteria and offered guidance on incorporating social security into her retirement strategy.

“You can always learn more,” said Winsor, 69. “There are always new things to think about, new laws and different changes. You want to stay on top of everything and know what those changes are.”

Find the Session for You

Register for one of 16 no-cost virtual Financial Fitness Week workshops

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Registration is open for Duke Financial Fitness Week, which will feature 16 no-cost live webinars on topics ranging from retirement planning strategies, understanding life insurance and building a budget. The webinars from Sept. 11-14 are led by experts from Duke Human Resources, Fidelity, the Duke Federal Credit Union, the Social Security Administration and insurance providers Lincoln Financial Group and Mercer.

Johanna Zawada, Associate Director for Duke Benefits, said this year’s offerings are designed to help staff and faculty discover strategies for financial success regardless of age or years in the workforce. In addition, there are several courses for people who are in the early stages of their retirement savings journey, as well as sessions for colleagues preparing to retire.

Rita Winsor of Duke University Health System Clinical Labs.

Courses such as “Five Money Musts for Young Investors,” “Ask Fidelity Q&A – Creating a Budget You’ll Actually Use,” and “Managing My Money: Budget, Emergency Savings and Debt Basics” offer insights into how employees can start the process of growing their retirement savings.

This year’s Financial Fitness Week will also feature courses offering retirement planning strategies designed for women, guidance for people who are planning on buying a home, and information about the Roth IRA, which can help diversify your tax burden.

“We want people to know that there are resources there for them, regardless of the stage that they’re in,” Zawada said.

“These sessions are really important,” Zawada said. “We always talk about going for your annual check-up to make sure that you’re well as a person. You need to do this for your finances, too. Things change during the course of the year. There are a lot of external influences, whether it’s inflation, raises, the cost of tuition for your kids or whatever it might be. These are topics you should always be thinking about.”

Most of the sessions will be recorded and available on-demand. However, sessions led by Fidelity will only have presentation slides.

Last year’s Financial Fitness Week drew 5,060 employees to virtual sessions.

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