Employee Financial Wellness Programs: The Ultimate Guide for HR Leaders

If your employees are feeling the weight of financial stress, your company might be carrying more of that burden than you realize. Money worries don’t stay at home—they follow your team into the office, affecting focus, morale, and overall performance. The result? A ripple effect that impacts everything from productivity to retention.

Sure, 401(k) plans and competitive salaries matter. But let’s face it—they’re no longer enough to tackle the root causes of financial stress as inflation continues to increase the cost of living. Employees need more than just a paycheck—they need support that empowers them to take control of their financial future.

Forward-thinking companies are stepping up with innovative financial wellness programs that go far beyond the basics. These initiatives don’t just teach budgeting tips. They transform workplace culture, energize your team, and help retain top talent. They focus on creating a workplace where financial stability fuels professional success.

Ready to elevate your strategy and unlock the full potential of your team? Let's get started.

How Poor Employee Financial Wellness Is Harming the Workplace

Money worries aren’t just keeping your employees up at night — they’re affecting your company's bottom line. As revealed in Wellhub’s State of Work-Life Wellness 2024report, 66% of people say their financial situation distracts them from work. This is a crisis that’s affecting everything from productivity to employee health.

Think about trying to focus on a crucial presentation while worrying about how to pay for this month’s rent. Or attempting to collaborate effectively with your team while stress about your student loan debt gnaws at your concentration. These very real and very personal financial issues can have a very real impact on how your employees perform at work. 

Fortunately, you don't have to let finances continue to drag down the productivity of three out of five employees. A financial wellness program can help you make a real change in your employees' lives, and by extension their work performance.

What Is an Employee Financial Wellness Program?

A financial wellness program is a comprehensive approach to helping employees understand, manage, and improve their financial lives. They go beyond just offering a 401(k) and actually give employees the tools, training, and support they need for fiscal fitness. 

These programs include some of these components:

• Budgetingsupport: Employees should have access to practical tools and guidance for creating and sticking to a budget. This includes expense-tracking apps, spending analysis tools, and educational resources about smart money management.
• Debt management: Offer strategic assistance for tackling various types of debt, from student loans to credit cards. Programs like debt consolidation services, repayment strategy, and counseling services can make a world of difference.
• Retirement planning: Retirement planning doesn’t stop at 401(k) enrollment. Workers deserve a variety of financial tools, including retirement calculators and access to professionals for regular check-ins.
• Emergency savings: Offer tools and incentives to build emergency funds, potentially including employer matching programs for emergency savings accounts, or employer assistance funds for emergencis like losing a house to a natural disaster.
• Investment education: Employees should have access to resources that help them understand their investment opportunities. As an HR leader, you can start by helping them understand the details of all their benefits, not just their retirement accounts.

The Benefits of Employee Financial Wellness Programs

Financial wellness programs aren’t just a lifeline for employees—they’re a powerhouse of benefits for employers too. These initiatives create a ripple effect that uplifts your entire organization. Here’s how these programs deliver wins for everyone involved:

Benefits for Employees

Nearly half of Americans think that 2024 was the most financially stressful year of their lives, according to a MarketWatch Guides survey. It’s no surprise that companies are looking for ways to address it. 

Here are four benefits of having a more financially healthy workforce:

• Reduced financial stress and anxiety: When employees have tools and support to manage their money effectively, they experience less anxiety about their financial situation. Lower financial stress can directly improve mental wellbeing, according to a 2022 study published in the European Scientific Journal. This can lead to better sleep, improved relationships, and greater overall wellbeing.
• Improved productivityand focus: About a quarter of employees consider that financial stress decreases their productivity at work, according to a 2024 SoFi report. With lower financial distractions, employees can focus more fully on their work. They’re more present, more creative, and more engaging in their daily tasks.
• Enhanced financial literacy and decision making: Managing money is a skill, just like knowing how to cook or sew. These programs help employees develop money management skills so they can make informed decisions about spending, saving, and investing.
• Greater retirement readiness: About one-fifth of working Americans over 50 don’t think they have enough money saved up for retirement, according to an AARP survey. Giving employees access to financial education can help them understand their options better and make more strategic decisions about their future.

Benefits for Employers

Offering financial wellness programs doesn’t just benefit the employee. As revealed in Wellhub’s Return on Wellbeing 2024 report, 95% of companies get a positive ROI from their investments in employee benefits. Helping your employees get financially fit can: 

• Increase employee engagementand loyalty: Employees are more focused and efficient when they aren’t distracted by financial concerns. Teams collaborate better, projects move faster, and quality improves.
• Lower healthcare costs: Financial stress can lead to all kinds of physical health problems. People who are worried about finances are less likely to engage in healthy behaviors like exercising and eating well. They are more likely to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol, according to a study published by Money and Pension Service. By reducing stress, companies can enjoy lower healthcare utilization and lower insurance costs.
• Reduce absenteeismand presenteeism: Financially stable employees won’t have to take as many unplanned days off to deal with emergencies. They’re also less likely to come to work sick because they cannot afford to take an unpaid day off.
• Improve recruitment and retention: Strong financial wellness programs can be a key differentiator in attracting top talent. With more than 50% of workers considering switching to a different company for better benefits, according to a Maven report. A solid financial wellbeing plan can help you keep your employees longer and happier.
• Better workplace culture: Supporting your employees in their financial lives helps create a better work environment. Less financial stress all around means that you’ll be able to enjoy a workplace that’s friendlier and more supportive toward one another. 

How to Build a Successful Financial Wellness Program

Here’s a clear plan on how to build an effective financial wellness program, from planning to implementation:

1. Define Program Goals and Objectives

Start by understanding what success looks like for your organization. Your financial wellness program should align with both employee needs and business goals. A great way to do this is with employee surveys, which can help you understand your employee’s financial concerns and preferences. You can use these data to create targeted programs that address real needs rather than assumed ones.

Once you know what you’d like to achieve, it’s time to set up SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals. These goals can help you maximize your chances of running a successful financial wellness program for your employees.

2. Gather Leadership Support

Financial wellness programs need more than just HR backing — they require visible and often financial support from company leadership. 

• Executive champions: Identify leaders who will actively promote and participate in the programs. Seeing your executives involved in financial programs can motivate employees to get serious about their finances. Direct involvement by executives shows that the program is important to the organization.
• Resource allocation: Secure an adequate budget and enough resources for implementing the program. This includes both financial resources and staff time.

3. Choose a Reliable Provider

Choosing the right financial wellness partner is one of the most important parts of the process. Look for vendors with proven track records, strong security measures, and comprehensive service offerings. Also, confirm that its platform integrates smoothly with your existing HR systems and provides a user-friendly experience for employees.

4. Promote the Program Effectively

Even the best program won’t succeed without effective communication. Use various communication methods to reach all employees. Mixing digital communications with in-person presentations and materials is a good way to reach both Sally, who never leaves her phone, and Don, who prefers to stay far away from technology. 

And don’t stop promoting your program right after launch! Create a year-round communications calendar that keeps financial wellness top of mind. You can include regular reminders about available resources and success stories. 

5. Measure Program Impact

Don’t forget about your financial wellness program after doing all the initial work. Keeping up with how employees are using it and whether or not it’s working can help you improve your program to make it even better. 

Here are some ways you can measure the program's impact:

• Survey employees regularly: Gather feedback through surveys or focus groups to understand what employees think about your financial wellness programs. They could offer suggestions on ways to improve the program or what additional programs they’d like to see to improve their financial situations.
• Track participation rates: Keep an eye on the percentage of employees using the program resources, like attending workshops, using the tools, and attending financial consultations.
• Look at pre- and post-program metrics: Review changes in financial stress indicators before and after implementing the program. If possible, gather anonymous surveys from employees asking for their opinion on whether their financial situation has improved after the program was implemented. For example, growing their savings accounts or reducing their debt.

Common Challenges & How to Overcome Them

Even the best-planned financial wellness programs face obstacles along the way. Be aware of them — and how to overcome them.

Low Employee Participation

Low participation often comes from either a lack of awareness or hesitation about discussing financial matters with their employers. You can incentivize your team members to join by offering incentives for enrollment. These can include matching contributions to emergency savings accounts or rewards for completing educational modules. 

You can also create a network of employee wellness ambassadors who can share their experiences and encourage coworkers to participate.

Measuring ROI

Return on investment (ROI) can be tricky to quantify, but these metrics can help you find proof of the program’s value. You can track the following metrics on the success of your financial wellness program:

• Employee participation rates: Track the percentage of the employees engaging with the program resources. This is going to be your main metric for measuring program success, as the goal is to get everyone on board. Instead of trying to achieve a 100% participation rate from day one, try to get more and more employees to sign up over time. A consistent increase in participation rates is the best sign that your employees love your program!
• Retention rates: Keep an eye on your employee turnover before and after implementing your financial wellness programs. The goal here is to offer benefits so impactful that your employees never want to leave.
• Productivity metrics: Look at changes in productivity levels, absenteeism, or presenteeism in the employees engaged in your programs. Try to see if there’s a noticeable difference in productivity between those who joined your program and those who didn’t.
• Healthcare cost savings: Analyze changes in healthcare costs. Reduced financial stress in the office means fewer health complications and, hopefully, fewer trips to the hospital.
• Employee satisfactionscores: Finally, a great financial wellness program can be a powerful way to improve what your employees think about their jobs. Track employee satisfaction consistently to see whether your new financial wellness programs had an impact on it.

Privacy Concerns

Financial matters are deeply personal, and employees may not want to spill the beans on their financial circumstances right off the bat. It’s always important to communicate exactly how personal information will be protected and used in these programs. 

Be transparent about what data the company can and cannot access. This is so your team members feel confident about sharing their true financial picture with the appropriate channels.

Addressing Diverse Needs

Your team likely includes employees at many life stages and income levels, each with different financial priorities. That’s why it’s so important to offer different program tracks based on life stage, career level, or specific financial goals. 

Someone who just joined the workforce a couple of years ago likely doesn’t have the same financial priorities as one who’s planning to exit it in a few years.

Transform Your Workplace Through Financial Wellbeing

Building a successful financial wellness program requires more than just offering basic money management resources. With many employees facing severe financial difficulties, this financial crisis demands a comprehensive approach that supports your employees and their diverse financial needs.

A well-designed employee wellbeing program can provide the structure and support needed to implement effective financial wellness initiatives. Helping your employees get financially secure can also involve providing support in other areas of their lives, including healthcare, mental wellness, working styles, and more. 

Our team can work with you to create a custom wellbeing strategy that resonates with your employees. Speak with a Wellhub Wellbeing Specialist today to see how we can help you help your employees. 

You May Also Like:

• Employee Wellness Challenge Checklist
• Loud Budgeting — Implications for Employee Compensation
• Wellness Initiatives that Boost Productivity & Retention

References:

• AARP. (2024). New AARP Survey: 1 in 5 Americans Ages 50+ Have No Retirement Savings and Over Half Worry They Will Not Have Enough to Last in Retirement. https://press.aarp.org/2024-4-24-New-AARP-Survey-1-in-5-Americans-Ages-50-Have-No-Retirement-Savings
• MarketWatch Guides. (2022). Financial Stress Survey: 41% of Americans Say Money Has Destroyed Their Mental Health. https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/banking/financial-stress/
• Maven Clinic. (2024). Maven’s State of Women’s and Family Health Benefits 2024. https://info.mavenclinic.com/pdf/state-women-family-health-benefits-2024
• Money & Pensions Service. (2024). Physical and mental health and financial wellbeing: a rapid evidence review. https://maps.org.uk/en/publications/research/2024/physical-health-and-financial-wellbeing--a-rapid-evidence-review
• Ozyuksel, S. (2022). Financial Stress Relationship with Work Life and Financial Well-Being. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 18(6), 87. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2022.v18n6p87
• SoFi. (2024). Future of Workplace Financial Wellbeing. https://www2.sofiatwork.com/2024FutureofWorkplaceFinancialWellbeing