Finances are one of the leading causes of stress among workers. According to the PricewaterhouseCooper's (PwC's) 2016 Employee Financial Wellness Survey, 52% of employees are stressed about financed and 46% spend at least 3 hours during the workweek dealing with or thinking about financial issues.[1] Imagine the impact this has on your employees and their ability to stay engaged on the job.
Offering your employees general education about budgeting, investing, tax management, debt, etc., can help them feel empowered to better handle their financial life. Financial wellness programs not only have big benefits for employees but also for employers. Providing tools to help employees improve their financial wellness can impact their productivity and attendance, making this area a top priority for many employers.
Here are some easy ways to begin rolling out financial wellness support to your employees.
Online Courses: Passing along tools to your employees can help them to learn more about finance basics on their own time and at their own pace. Smartaboutmoney.org is a non-profit, unbiased site offering free courses and tools about the basics of money in order to help empower Americans reach their financial goals.
Debt Management: Debt is a main reason for employees not participating in their retirement plan. Helping them to eliminate debt will not only help their financial status but will help increase employee participation in your sponsored plan. The Federal Trade Commission has published information on how to help consumers deal with debt. Pass this informative document on to employees and provide more financial education to them to help them avoid debt in the future.
Informative Seminars: Your financial advisor can provide educational seminars on Social Security, state pension plans or investing basics to help your employees increase their financial knowledge. This is a great opportunity for your employees to ask questions directly to a financial advisor and can be held at the workplace for easy access. Access our 10 Steps to Financial Success workbook included in one of our seminars.
Ongoing Support & Education: Continual support and materials can be key to helping your employees stay on track with their financial goals. Your retirement plan partners already have informative newsletters, flyers and emails they can provide to your employees on a variety of financial topics throughout the year to help them keep financial goals top-of-mind. Advisors can also provide one-on-one support and planning.
Providing financial wellness resources doesn’t have to take a lot of your time. Contact your advisor today to learn more about how they can partner with you.
[1] http://www.pwc.com/us/efwsurvey