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Benefits jargon simplifier

Translates dense retirement and 401(k) terminology into plain-language explanations calibrated for employees and small business owners with no financial background, producing a term-by-term glossary, a rewritten…

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Purpose

Convert technical retirement and 401(k) language — vesting schedules, employer matches, contribution limits, ERISA disclosures — into plain-English explanations that a non-financial audience actually understands and acts on. Solves the recurring problem of benefits communications that are legally accurate but functionally unreadable, which drives low enrollment and confused employees.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

  • Rewrite a 401(k) enrollment email, plan summary, or benefits notice in plain language
  • Explain retirement terms like vesting, employer match, or Roth vs. traditional to employees
  • Simplify a Summary Plan Description (SPD) or fee disclosure for a lay audience
  • Create a glossary of retirement terms for a small business owner setting up a plan
  • Turn a dense financial document into something employees will read and understand
  • Reduce confusion during open enrollment by clarifying benefits jargon

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

  • Source material: The document, email, or list of terms to simplify (paste the text or list the terms)
  • Audience: Employees / small business owner / new hires / mixed workforce
  • Reading level target: Plain (8th grade) / very plain (6th grade) — default to 8th grade if unspecified
  • Plan specifics: Any real numbers to use — match percentage, vesting schedule, contribution limits, eligibility rules
  • Purpose of the communication: Enrollment, annual notice, education, compliance disclosure
  • Terms that must stay accurate: Any legally required language that cannot be paraphrased away
  • Tone preference: Warm and encouraging / neutral and informational

If plan specifics are missing, use current-year IRS figures and note clearly that numbers should be verified against the actual plan document.

Instructions

Step 1: Identify and Extract the Jargon

Scan the source material and pull every term, phrase, or concept a non-financial reader would stumble on. Common offenders to watch for:

  • Structural terms: vesting, cliff vesting, graded vesting, eligibility period, entry date
  • Contribution terms: employer match, safe harbor, deferral, catch-up contribution, contribution limit, true-up
  • Account-type terms: Roth, traditional, pre-tax, after-tax, rollover
  • Regulatory terms: ERISA, fiduciary, SPD, fee disclosure, QDIA, auto-enrollment, auto-escalation
  • Mechanics terms: compounding, expense ratio, target-date fund, distribution, RMD, loan provision, hardship withdrawal

Flag any term that appears without a definition or that assumes prior knowledge.

Step 2: Build the Plain-Language Glossary

For each flagged term, produce a three-part entry:

  1. The term (as it appears in the document)
  2. Plain-language definition: One or two sentences, no financial vocabulary used to define financial vocabulary. If a technical word is unavoidable, define it inline.
  3. Why it matters to you: One sentence connecting the term to a decision or dollar amount the reader cares about.

Formatting rule: never define a term using another undefined term. If "vesting" appears in the definition of "employer match," vesting must also have its own entry.

Step 3: Attach a Concrete Analogy Per Difficult Concept

For the 5–8 hardest concepts, add a real-world analogy that maps the mechanics accurately:

  • Employer match → "free money" framing: "For every dollar you put in, your employer adds their own — like a raise you only get if you take it."
  • Vesting → earned ownership over time: "Think of it like a signing bonus paid in installments — you own more of the employer's contributions the longer you stay."
  • Compounding → growth on growth: "Your money earns money, and then that new money earns money too."
  • Expense ratio → a small annual fee: "A yearly cost, like a subscription, quietly taken from your account balance."

Keep every analogy technically honest — no analogy that oversimplifies into inaccuracy.

Step 4: Rewrite the Document in Plain Language

Produce a full plain-language version of the source material:

  • Replace passive, clause-heavy sentences with short active ones (aim for under 20 words per sentence)
  • Convert legal phrasing into second person ("you," "your account")
  • Use real numbers wherever the plan provides them ("Your employer matches 50 cents on every dollar you save, up to 6% of your pay")
  • Preserve any legally required language verbatim, but follow each block with a "What this means for you" plain-language restatement
  • Break dense paragraphs into scannable sections with clear headers and, where useful, a short worked example

Step 5: Add a Quick-Reference Summary

Close with a 5–7 line "The short version" box that captures the most important takeaways in the plainest possible language — what the reader should know and what action to take.

Output Format

  • Structure: Glossary → analogies → full plain-language rewrite → quick-reference summary
  • Length: 800–1,400 words depending on source length
  • Format: Structured document — glossary as a labeled list, rewrite as sectioned prose with headers, summary as a boxed bullet list
  • Sections: Plain-Language Glossary → Concept Analogies → Plain-Language Rewrite → The Short Version
  • Tone: Warm, clear, and encouraging — treats the reader as capable, never condescending; assumes zero prior financial knowledge

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

  • [ ] Every flagged technical term has a glossary entry — no term is defined using another undefined term
  • [ ] Each glossary entry includes both a plain definition and a "why it matters to you" line
  • [ ] At least 5 difficult concepts have concrete, technically accurate analogies
  • [ ] The rewrite contains no sentence over ~20 words unless it's required legal language
  • [ ] Any legally required verbatim language is preserved and followed by a plain restatement
  • [ ] Real plan numbers are used where provided, or placeholder figures are clearly flagged for verification

Notes

  • The single highest-impact reframe is "employer match = free money you have to claim" — lead with it in enrollment communications
  • Never sacrifice accuracy for simplicity; if a concept genuinely requires nuance (Roth vs. traditional tax treatment), simplify the explanation but keep the distinction correct
  • When the source is a compliance document (SPD, fee disclosure), the goal is a companion plain-language layer, not a replacement — the official document still governs
  • Reading-level check: if a sentence would confuse someone reading their first-ever benefits notice, rewrite it

How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

Installing in Claude Code:

  • ~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
  • <your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:

  1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
  2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills