Financial Wellness Benefits: What the Research Shows and What Workers Want

Both workers and their employers are increasingly interested in financial wellness benefits, which are employer-based offerings that help individuals better manage their personal finances. That growing awareness, as well as a need for them, highlights the importance of examining the benefits themselves and how they are used. 

Through tools such as employee survey research and interviews with employers and benefits providers, this multi-part AARP Public Policy Institute study examines what we know about financial wellness benefits, who uses them, who needs them, how effective they are, and what employees need and want. It also considers views on the benefits from the industry side. The work seeks to provide an understanding of how to improve the effectiveness of workplace-based financial wellness programs—particularly

by increasing employer adoption and employee use of them. It focuses on the financial needs and interest in these benefits among a diverse range of employees, including low- to middle-income and deskless workers.

Key Takeaways:

Employee and Industry Perspectives About Financial Wellness Benefits - Read the full report.

• A survey of employees most likely to be offered financial wellness benefits found that there is a desire for help with financial wellness, with different types of workers having different needs.
• Slightly more than half of employees desired additional support in managing their finances.
• Deskless (28 percent), Black (32 percent), and younger employees (36 percent) felt the most overwhelmed by the state of their finances. Women and those with multiple jobs were also more likely to report feeling overwhelmed.

Workplace Financial Wellness Programs: How to Engage Workers - Read the full report.

• Familiarity with the term financial wellness was widespread, yet it meant different things to different people.
• While interest in financial wellness was highest among those who are relatively financially secure and financially confident, a majority of less financially healthy workers were also interested in using financial wellness resources to help manage their finances.
• To grow in relevance, financial wellness programs need to better address urgent, short-term stressors, such as through help with managing debt and emergency savings.