KeyBank
Kelleen N. Longfellow, KeyBank
April 4, 2023
How to create a financial wellness program for your employees
By Kelleen N. Longfellow, KeyBank
In the past year, the share of Americans facing financial challenges grew to 55%, a nearly 20-point increase from the year prior, according to the KeyBank 2023 Financial Mobility Survey.
In addition, 2 in 5 people (42%) reported feeling overwhelmed or burned out as a result of their financial challenges, with Millennials (52%) and those under 35 (54%) experiencing burnout more acutely. Regardless of where they are in their financial journey, 85% of respondents have acknowledged that more financial knowledge and strategies could bolster their financial resilience in these times of continued economic turbulence and uncertainty.
What does all this mean for you as an employer?
For one thing, it means it’s likely that many of your employees may be experiencing some level of financial stress, despite receiving a fair wage and generous employee benefits from your company, which could be having adverse effects on their productivity. It also means employees may be more receptive than ever to a workplace financial wellness program that can help them better manage their financial health.
A number of banks, including KeyBank, offer complimentary workplace financial wellness programs to companies of all sizes. Of course, not all bank-provided programs are the same. To help you assess your banking partner’s program, here’s a checklist of key elements that can make your program successful.
A comprehensive workplace financial wellness program includes:
A financial education curriculum with money management strategies that can be put into practice to address both short- and long-term financial goals.
- Provides workshops that are planned around common life stages (home-buying, saving for college, planning for retirement and long-term care, etc.) and can be customized based on employees’ needs and feedback.
- Reflects evolving economic trends (ie. inflation) to deliver information and guidance relevant to current market conditions.
- Delivers content relative to income levels, stages of life, and complexity of financial needs -- from foundational budgeting principles to complex financial guidance.
Covers beginning and advanced savings and budgeting strategies and practices:
- Includes educational materials to cater to varying levels of financial knowledge, from basic budgeting to more advanced topics like debt repayment, investments including secondary homes, and transitioning wealth
- Provides employee self-service tools and digital resources that allow them to put workshop learnings into practice and empower them to continue their financial progress when they are not engaging with a financial advisor
- Includes online calculators, tracking tools, quizzes, and other resources that identify spending habits, help build a budgeting plan, and track progress against goals
- Explains how Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can be used to plan for medical expenses, as well as for wealth-building through investment
- Factors in your company’s offerings like health insurance plans, wellness stipends and any company-provided benefits that can help them plan their spending and savings
Addresses crisis preparation and provides strategies for managing unexpected occurrences:
- Stresses the importance of having an emergency fund set aside and suggests actionable steps to establish one through automating savings programs and other strategies
- Includes education on other types of preparation, such as life insurance policies, HELOCs, and personal loans
Includes strategies for paying down debt:
- Covers education on how credit works, the variety of credit options available, debt-to-credit ratios, and the importance of maintaining a healthy credit score
- Reviews debt payment strategies, including the pros and cons of debt consolidation
- Includes information on student loan repayment strategies, particularly if your workplace demographics skew younger
Helps your employees plan for retirement:
Offers workshops around the importance of retirement savings and provides tools for calculating how much they need to retire:
- Explains how tax-deferred savings plans like 401(k), 403(b), and traditional IRA plans work, and how to leverage your company’s match program to their advantage
- Provides information on different investment options and strategies
- Shows them how Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can be used as a retirement planning tool
Offers one-on-one financial counseling with access to financial products and services aligned with their individual needs:
- Ability to align financial advisors with specific expertise based on income levels and needs
- Can provide a full complement of banking, credit, lending and investment products and services to support employees’ full set of financial needs
One last statistic to consider: According to PwC’s annual Employee Financial Wellness Survey, 41% of financially-stressed employees are embarrassed to seek guidance on their finances. As an employer, you can help destigmatize asking for help by providing effective company-provided financial wellness resources as part of your overall employee benefits program.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments